For What It's Worth
by ohsugarbeth
Summary: Mitchie flies halfway around the world to spend her time with her cousin, Nate. She can't wait to see him. And Shane. Of course. But, after so many years apart, what will happen between the two of them?
1. Chapter 1

**My lovely readers! Do not be alarmed, I am not abandoning 'Between You And I', I just have had this idea for a while and need to get it out so it doesn't cloud my thoughts.  
Please review and tell me if you think I should continue with it.  
In this story, Connect 3 are VERY OOC. Kind of like, the dirty, more mature version. Wonderful. :D  
Hope you enjoy!**

**Monday November 22**

**7:30 PM**

Well, I feel loved. So much so, that I've spent the past hour and a half sobbing over the amount of love I'd previously been received. From everybody in fact: my parents, my friends and even my cat Sugar. Trust me, if you had been hit with what I had been hit, you'd be sobbing too:

1) My parents are abandoning me for the holidays. (Some Alaskan cruise or something, I don't know, but it's followed by a jolly journey through the whole damn continent of Europe)

2) I found my ex-best friend Sierra choking my ex-boyfriend Josh by means of sticking her tongue down his throat. Josh, who shall from now on be referred to as the A-hole, promptly responded to her by groping her stuffed bra. For godsakes, she's fricken 19 and she still stuffs her bra. The A-hole obviously wasn't worth going out with I mean, he couldn't even tell the difference between real breasts and tissue paper! What's wrong with him? (Oh yeah, he's an A-hole)

3) Sugar ran away.

Who abandons their own daughter? For the holidays no less....

Okay, I guess I deserved it. I did hit my parents with my own barrel of love when I announced at my graduation party that I wouldn't be going to college right away. They blamed it on my cousin Nate. He's the coolest cousin ever; he's in a rad band that is actually famous and everything! He gets to tour the whole world. Sigh. He's so lucky. I haven't heard from Nate since last week. We're pretty close, since we're the closest in age in our whole family. He doesn't get to spend the holidays with his family either; band stuff. But in the end it's gotta be worth it, no?

**8:20 PM**

The phone rang; right in the middle of a Friends rerun. Right at the pivotal moment in the episode, just like always. This will never stop bothering me.

"Who is it?" I asked harshly, not taking my eyes off the screen.

"Whoa, PMS much?" came the voice on the other end.

"Nate!" I squealed. Finally, a friendly person to talk to. "I'm so glad you called. I thought I was going to die from the absence of other life forms."

"Yeah, I heard about your parents. That's gotta suck."

"Yeah."

"Well you've got Josh and um...Sienna, right?"

"Wrong."

"They're going away too?"

"I wish they would." I replied. Damn. Now I was going to have to explain to him what happened, and I was going to have to use the A-hole's birthname. Damn.

"Oh God. What happened?"

"To make a long story short, using their hands, tongues and fake breasts, they've managed to simultaneously end up on my hate list."

"They did that to you? I don't believe it; Josh was so cool when I met him."

"It's because you're in a fab band. Well I don't think he'd use the word, 'fab' but you know what I mean."

"So?"

"So?! If you weren't my cousin, and you were still as good-looking, well, let's not go there..."

"Lets. What about Jason? Shane?"

"Well they'd have to be as good-looking as you, now," I reminded him.

"You don't think either of them is good-looking? Not even one?" Yes! Shane! Mmmm Shane ...Mustn't let Natey know though.

"Except for Shane."

Damn.

"Really? You like Shane?"

"No, my dear, good looks and fancying are two different things."

"If you say so..."

"So how's it been down under?" I said, quickly changing the subject.

"Excuse me?"

"I meant in Australia. Eww, get your mind out of the gutter, Nathan!"

"It would be a lot more fun if you were here."

"It would be a lot more fun if I was anywhere."

"So why don't you come?"

And that was that. That is how I planned the next two months of my life out. It didn't take much thinking really. Who could have said no?

**Wednesday November 24**

**12:02 AM**

Here I am, on the midnight flight to Australia, waiting for the lift off. Thanksgiving is officially tomorrow, and I'll be spending it in Australia! (Hurray!) With boys! (Double hurray!) With Shane Gray! (Hurray times a million!) The plane is packed. Who flies from America to Australia? On the unfortunate side, I'll be spending the next eighteen hours on an airplane sitting next to an old man who smells like he hasn't showered in years.

Great.

**2:33 AM**

Only sixteen hours to go!

**1:05 PM**

The lunch cart just came. Chicken or fish. What a selection. Yuck. But on the bright side, less than 7 hours until I see Nate! (And Shane).

**3:38 PM**

I was listening to my iPod, Connect 3 (of course), when it hit me; Shane was going to SEE me. Like really, SEE me. We haven't seen each other in person in almost a year! What if he thought I was too fat? (Well, not to be self-absorbed, but impossible - I am the thinnest out of all my friends, so unless he thinks anorexia is the way to go, I think he'll find my figure suitable.) But what if I'm too short? I'm 5'2". That's pretty damn short. Well, no bother I guess, that's what high heels are for. But what if he thinks my nose is too big?

**3.39 PM**

Or too small?

**6:49 PM**

I fell asleep a couple of hours ago, that was until, of course, my iPod played, "I Just Wanna Live" by Good Charlotte - it's quite difficult to stay asleep with those high-pitches blasting in your ears. But I'm glad I woke up. Just over an hour 'till we land and Nate will be waiting for me at the gate! I bet he's getting ready to come meet me now. I wonder what Shane is doing.

**8:20 PM**

Hell yeah! The plane had landed and I scrambled out of my seat. I want to get off the damn plane A.S.A.P!! I am so excited I can't keep still! Finally, the line began moving as people began heading down. I pulled my small backpack over one shoulder, and as quickly as possible, made my way to the gate. As I stepped out onto the terminal, my eyes scanned the small crowd for Nate's noggin. But alas, it was nowhere to be found.

Oh god, what if he just forgot??

"Mitchie! Mitchie!"

Okay, maybe not.

I turned my head and saw …Shane? He ran up to me, dodging people on the way, a gigantic smile plastered on his face.

"Shane!" I grinned at him. He picked me up in his arms and spun me around, my feet flying around loosely. Just like when we were kids. He still smelt like himself. It's weird how my brain stores this unnecessary information when sometimes I can't remember for the life of me what's on my shopping list when I forget to take it with me.

"How have you been?" I asked him after he'd put me down, his arm now slung carelessly over my shoulder.

"Great. Crazy. But great," he smiled down at me.

"So, uh, where is Nate?" Oh god, I hope that didn't come out accusatory. Shane picking me up was awesome.

"He was on his way down from the hotel room, but the elevator got stuck."

"Oh, too bad," I said, trying hard not to laugh. We looked at each other for about two seconds before we both started cracking up. He was cute when he laughed.

He was always cute, but he was even cuter when he laughed. Suddenly his pocket started vibrating. He reached in and pulled out his cell phone.

"It's Nate," he told me, looking at the screen. "Hello? Yeah, just picked her up then. On our way back now. Later." He hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket.

"What about my stuff? Baggage claim?" I asked.

"Jason's assistant will pick it up and bring it over." he replied, leading me down an escalator.

"How come only Jason has an assistant?" I wondered out loud.

"He wanted one, I guess," Shane shrugged his shoulders. When we got outside, he led me over to a black limousine and opened the back door for me, like a gentleman. Aww! He slid in after me and shut the door behind him.

"Do you want a drink?" he asked.

"Oh, no thanks, I can't wait," I smiled, looking out the window.

"It's a two hour ride," he noted. I flipped myself around to face him, my eyes wide with confusion.

"Two hours? I thought your hotel was in Sydney?"

"It is - on the other side, plus traffic."

I nodded, comprehending. "Oh..."

"So do you want a drink?" he smiled, holding out a bottle of wine.

"Well, okay... wait a minute... how do I know you're not trying to poison me?" I asked, warily.

"Well," he said, putting on a grin, "I haven't raped you yet. What good what it do for me if you're poisoned first?"

"Poison isn't an STD, genius," I said, patting his shoulder.

"So you're saying it's okay if I rape you?"

"Yes," I said, not thinking. "Wait no!" He began laughing. "That's not fair you tricked me!" I said, hitting him.

"Hey! Don't hit me!" he pouted, putting his arms up as a shield.

This is going to be a long ride...

**Wednesday November 24**

**9:00 PM**

"Can I ask you something?" I said, after a lull silenced the atmosphere. Shane turned his head to look at me, with his cute little smile. Oh, that smile! It will be the death of me, I swear!

"Why are you wearing a shirt that says 'SLUT' on it?" He paused for a second and then began laughing. "Are you laughing at me?" I asked, mock offended.

"Are you judging me?"

"No."

"Well then no," he said. I crossed my arms and turned my head, pretending to be mad.

"I'd much rather be wearing this shirt than that hickey," he said, pointing to my neck. Quickly I snapped my head back, covering the hickey with my hand while simultaneously trying to cover it with my hair. He laughed at me, his eyes crinkling with pure delight.

"It's still there?" I questioned worriedly.

"Wow, that boyfriend of yours must have one hell of a set of teeth," he commented, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Ex-boyfriend," I corrected him.

"Ah. So that hickey is the result of breakup sex," he said, making himself double over laughing.

"Can we stop talking about the hickey?" I said, getting annoyed for real this time. He stopped laughing. The next fifteen seconds were quiet. I decided it was only fair to clue him in.

"I only broke up with him a few days ago."

"Oh," he replied, his eyes staring blankly at the headrest of the front seat. He looked …thoughtful?

"I caught him - with my best friend." I said. I felt that he sensed the pain in my tone.

"Sorry," he shrugged, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a grim smile.

"Yeah, me too. It's a bitch being alone for the holidays - no one to sip eggnog by the fire with, no one to kiss under mistletoe - no one to go return gifts with after the holidays for way cooler ones," I joked, trying to lighten up the mood. I could tell he wanted to laugh.

"I never looked at it that way. Thanks for making the holidays suck just a bit more," he said, sarcastically.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say it's been a while since I gave a hickey."

"Oh."

Aww! I should probably let him know that he can give me all the hickeys he wants (and anything else). Wait, no, don't tell him that, it ruins the element of surprise.

"Well, we can be alone together," I said, smiling. He smiled back at me and brushed his hand against mine. I couldn't tell whether it was on purpose or by accident, but regardless, my cheeks flushed red. Turn your head, Torres!

**9:12 PM**

I turned my head, trying to wipe the goofy grin off my face.

"He was stupid, you know," Shane said. I turned my head back to face him. His eyes looking at me, burning with …something I couldn't quite place my finger on.

"Who? Josh?"

"Is that his name?"

I shrugged, looking down at my hands.

"The weird thing," I began, "Is that I don't even miss him." I looked up into Shane's eyes. "Does that make me a horrible person?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Enough about me then," I said, trying to change the mood. "Let's talk about you."

"What, about my love life? I don't have one, next." he said. We looked at each other before bursting out laughing. I'm so glad the Shane that _I_ know isn't like the Shane that the fans know. It's amazing how different a person is depending on how you know them.

"Okay, next. What's the best part about being in a band?"

"Are you wired or something? Are you being paid to interview me?" he grinned wickedly, climbing towards me to check my shirt.

"No! Get off!" I laughed.

Stay on!

I feebly pushed against his chest. It did nothing to keep him away. Oh well.

I had to keep fighting him off until we toppled over and he landed on top of me on the floor.

Yes!

It was cramped. VERY cramped.

Fuck yes.

**9:22 PM**

I could feel him leaning in. Oh my god, this was it. My heart stuttered with anticipation.

Before he could lean any closer, a vibration came from his jeans pocket. His phone.

Damn it to hell!

Shane climbed off me and reached into his pocket.

He was about to kiss me!

Was he about to kiss me?

He was about to KISS me!

"Yello?" he drawled into the reciever. I also got up and straightened my pants before I sat back down next to him on the seat. I didn't pay attention to what he was saying; I was too caught up in my thoughts.

He tried to kiss me!

!!!!!!!

"Are you hungry?" Shane asked me, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

Yes! Hungry for you!

Shane, cocked his eyebrow, looking at me weirdly. Oh God. I hope I didn't just say that out loud. I froze trying to think if I'd said that in my head or not.

"Mitchie? Hungry? I asked you just then and your eyes kind of glazed over," he chuckled.

"A little bit, I guess," I shrugged. Thank God I didn't say that out loud. _That _would have been mortifying.

"We can stop to eat, if you want," he offered.

Okay, okay, now I know the right thing to do is to go see Nate first, but he made me wait, so why can't I make him wait?

**9:29 PM**

Okay, so he was stuck in an elevator. But still!

Plus I lied, I'm starving. The airplane food wasn't even fit for a dog. Not even an ugly one.

"Yeah, okay," I smiled. "Drive-thru?" There, I justified the food VS Nate situation.

"Okay," he nodded. He leaned over to push a button that lowered the screen so that we could talk to the chauffer.

"Can you stop by a McDonalds drive through?" Shane asked. The chauffer tipped his hat, signifying a positive answer. Shane smiled and sat back down, pushing the button so the separator would go back up.

"I hate fast food meat. I only go for the fries," I clarified. Big Mac's without the meat were my favourite. I simply replaced the meat patties with fried, and voila, a burger made in heaven.

"Yeah? Me too," Shane agreed with me, his face lighting up.

Hell yeah! Something in common!

"Sometimes for the apple pies...." he smiled. I smiled back at him, and leaned back into my seat, stretching my arms out. He brushed his hand against my own that was resting beside me on the seat. It was definitely on purpose this time - because, well, he kinda left his hand there.

YES!

**10:08 PM**

Three baskets of fries later, I found myself laying face up along the seat, holding my stomach.

"That was good," I smiled, looking up at the mirrored roof. I could see Shane sitting on the seat across from me.

"They make 'em better in Australia," he commented, looking over to me.

"What will happen if I pinch your nose shut?" I asked, randomly. I had no idea where that came from.

"Let's not find out..." he said, a bit horrified. He backed up a bit.

"I say lets!" I said getting up, grinning at him. He kept trying to back away but there was only so much space. I cornered him. He turned his head and tried to cover his profile with his hands.

"Come on now, don't be scared..." I cooed, inching closer.

"Mommy..." he whimpered. I had a plan. I sat there for a full minute, completely still. He slowly moved his arms down and turned his head, wondering if it was okay to move. WRONG! Right then I pounced on him and he started squirming. I grabbed the collar of his shirt with both of my hands as he tried to push me away. He ended up pushing me down to the floor - he came along for the ride, what, with being attached to his shirt collar and all. There we were. We were there - there where we had previously been - on the floor, our faces merely inches apart. My hands were still gripping his collar.

I, Mitchie Torres, am the World's Greatest Flirter and Master of Compromising Positions.

YES!

"I happen to know," he began. I could feel his breath on my neck. "...that you have a piercing, in your belly button."

Oh god.

"And now, that you are most definitely incapable of pushing me off you, there's nothing stopping me from-"

"No!" I squealed, struggling to get him off.

Not really.

He slowly lifted my shirt and brushed his hands along the piercing. I let out a mini giggle.

"Ticklish are you?" His eyes sparkled with devilish glee and he began tickling my sides.

"Shane, stop it!" I gasped, now laughing uncontrollably. I began squirming around until he finally lifted himself up. Before he could fully get off, I pushed him over and was now under me.

I am now THE master of compromising positions. He got a sly look in his eyes and grinned up at me. Instantly he wrapped his arms around my waist, disabling me to move.

"Ha! What now?" he smirked as I tried to break free. Again - not really.

YES!

"Well," I sighed, "If you won't let go of me, I might as well get some sleep." I said and rested my head on his chest.

"After all, it's bad luck to wake a sleeping person, so now you're stuck." I finished and closed my eyes.

**10:36 PM**

We laid there like that for a good fifteen minutes at least. Fifteen minutes of heaven, I can accurately describe them as.

"You know, we're almost there," he said finally, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Can't hear you. Sleeping," I said, not moving an inch.

"We can sit on the roof of the car and look at the city lights, you know," he said from under me. I opened my eyes and lifted my head.

"Really?" I scrambled off him and stood up on a seat. I opened the sunroof and pushed myself up, sitting on the car. A few seconds later, Shane emerged and sat next to me.

"Wow it's gorgeous..." I said in awe. The lights were shining everywhere and the whole city sparkled. I could see the Opera House and the bridge over in the harbour, the lights glittering off the water like diamonds.

"That's the hotel," he noted, pointing to a large white structure several blocks away.

"That's awesome," I said. Then I realized something. I turned to look at him. He must have caught me looking out of the corner of his eye, because he turned to face me.

"You wasted your own four hours to come get me," I said, rather sheepishly. He smiled.

"I didn't waste them."

!!!!!!!!

Cringe.

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks," I smiled shyly up at him. I would have been bored out of my mind if I had to go another two hours without having anyone to talk to. Stupid Nate and his elevator troubles. Shane slipped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer.

HEAVEN I SAY, HEAVEN! Hmm...what sounds better: Mitchie Gray? Mitchie Torres Gray? Mrs. Mitchie Gray?

"Mitchie? I heard him say, quite distantly. I snapped out of my inner-thoughts and turned my head. Before I knew it, his soft lips were pressed up against mine.

**10:49 PM**

The cold wind stung me as the car raced down the streets. But I didn't care. Nothing could ruin this moment for me.

It was a nice kiss - slow, sweet, soft. I'm sure the colour in my face darkened as soon as he pulled away. I looked down, grinning - all giggly like a school girl. Maybe we were moving just a _tad_ too fast?

**10:50 PM**

Nah.

**10:51 PM**

There wasn't even an official 'us' yet.

**10:52 PM**

Was there?

**Okay, so review, review, review your little hearts out!  
Reviews are the steam to my boat. :D  
I would love for **_**everyone**_** who read this to tell me what they think! I want to know if it's worth continuing, and stuff.**

**Love you all muchly,**

**Bree. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't fret – I'm not abandoning Between You And I, I swear. **

**Oh, and a note – this isn't **_**realllllly**_** a Camp Rock story, it's more of a Connect3 story. I hope noone has a problem with that :)**

**Wednesday November 24**

**10:55 PM**

"We're here," He said, jumping back down into the car. He held out his hand and helped me down gently. He got out first and held the door open for me.

"Thanks," I smiled at him as I took his hand and got out. When I saw what I was standing in front of my jaw hit the floor. Shane laughed at my reaction. Maybe because he was used to these grand hotels and his luxurious lifestyle. Spoiled son of a....

"Michie!" I heard a voice echoing around the foyer. I ran up a few steps towards the sound of the voice. Shane followed behind me. As soon as I saw Nate about fifteen metres ahead, a sprinted as fast as I could.

"Nathan!" I squealed with delight as I jumped into his arms. He spun me around a few times and kissed me on my forehead. He was like my big brother basically - and he played that role pretty well. "Oh god I've missed you!!" I said as he set me down.

"Me too! Hey thanks Shane," he said to Shane, who was behind me. Shane bobbed his head - you know that thing that guys do to communicate with each other? Yeah. That.

"So how long were you in the elevator for?" I asked as he led me into the hotel. The doors were automatic. They led to other doors which were opened to us by some bellhops who had the absolute whitest teeth I had ever seen.

"Just under an hour - I didn't want you to have to wait at the airport, so I called Shane from my cell - great reception for an elevator if you ask me," Nate explained.

"Mitchie!" Jason and two other guys greeted my simultaneously. I recognised the other guys as friends of theirs. I knew I'd met them before, I just couldn't place names yet. They were in the lobby and all rushed over to me as we walked in. With each I exchanged kisses and hugs. I missed Jason too, he always knew how to make me laugh – and after all that abandonment, that's what I needed.

"Are you hungry?" Nate asked as he led us all towards an elevator. Shane and I looked at each other and smiled.

"Not really - but I'm thirsty - I say we go out for drinks." I stated as we all stepped in.

"Really? You're not tired?" Nate questioned. "You don't even want to sleep?" I sighed.

"I slept on the plane, I slept in the car, I -" Then I thought back to how I 'slept' in the car and smiled. "I'm so tired of sleeping!!" I said.

"Okay, okay, we'll go out for drinks." Nate appeased me, Andyling.

"Oh by the way, you'll be staying with Jason and Shane - is that okay?" Nate asked. "Cause we only got two suites and Shaun, Andy and I are staying in one so we thought it would make the most sense...plus you and Shane could share makeup and stuff," he said, making himself laugh.

"Haha, you're funny," came Shane's sarcastic reply.

"As long as I'm not imposing..." I hedged.

YES!!

I get to stay in the same room as Shane.

HAHA. FUCK YES!

"Naw, it'll be cool," Jason grinned.

"Is my stuff up yet? Cause I wanted to change first - possibly take a shower?" I asked as we stepped onto the twelfth floor.

"Oh yeah, your stuff should be here," Nate said. I followed them down a long hallway. "Our room is around the corner," Nate pointed out as Jason dug in his pocket for a room key.

"Okay," I nodded, smiling. Jason opened the door and Shane let me go in first.

"Fucking hell…" I exclaimed, my eyes swirling around trying to take in everything. It was the biggest suite I'd seen in my entire life. It was like the same size as a house.

"All this for the two of you?" I asked, awestruck.

"Well, the three of us now," Shane grinned.

"There's your stuff," Jason pointed, leading me towards the living room area. He and Shane both picked up some of my stuff and carried it into a bedroom which was surprisingly small for the size of the suite.

"Is this one of your rooms?" I asked, it had someone's stuff all over it - the closet was half opened - it was filled with clothes.

"It's mine - but I'm moving into the living room," Shane said, scratching the back of his head and grinning wryly.

"What? No!" I said, shaking my head madly, "No way, that's totally me imposing. I'll sleep in the living room."

"No - you're a lady and the gentlemen steps aside for said lady," Shane grinned.

"Well the lady requests that the gentlemen honour her wishes by not being a gentlemen!" I said, putting my foot down.

"Are you gonna get all dominatrix on me? Cause I can get into that..." Shane said, a sly grin creeping along his face.

My arm flipped out and slapped his forearm. He pouted - I melted. Jason had left the room by this time.

Thank God.

"Share it with me then," I said, looking over at the bed. "I take up about this much space," I said holding my hands up centimetres apart from each other. He smiled, his eyes burning with delight, with just a hint of hesitance.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Most definitely," I confirmed. "Now get out so I can take a shower."

**11:32 PM**

I emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. I opened my suitcases and dug around for the _perfect_ outfit. I ended up wearing my most favourite pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a black halter neck shirt, and a fire-engine-red jacket so I wouldn't freeze to death, although, this was summer time in Australia, so I didn't think that that would be a problem.

Now, honesty is a virtue, so let's be honest: I looked DAMN good. Thank the lord - usually I find one imperfection and spend hours trying to redo my outfits. It's my one and only OCD. I stepped out of the room; all five of them were sitting on the couches.

"Oh god, I hope you guys weren't waiting too long," I said, walking over to them.

"Nah, of course not, let's go," Nate said, standing up. The other four, however, were stunned. I pretended not to notice their jaws dropped like some teenage boys watching porn for the first time. Mind you, I looked like a lady.

"Vamos muchachos." I said, totally butchering the Spanish language.

**12:02 AM**

We arrived at a really hip bar lounge called 'Smoke'.

"You chill out here," Nate said to us, leading us over to a round booth. "Shaun and I'll get some drinks."

"...and we'll be over there talking to those twins," Andy grinned, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Come on dude," he pulled Jason by the collar leaving Shane and I alone.

Thank you, God. Thank you.

"You look good," he said to me. I swear my cheeks matched my coat right then.

"Thanks," I mumbled, trying to prevent myself from saying something totally stupid and/or embarrassing.

"You look hot tonight."

Something like that. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. If that's not the most embarrassing thing I've ever said - well - never mind, it is.

Can you blame me? Really, can you? He did look hot. REALLY hot. (He wasn't wearing his 'SLUT' shirt)

He smiled, letting out a little chuckle. "Thanks."

We were both thinking about it, at least I knew I was thinking about it. How could I not think about the kiss? He definitely had to have been thinking about it. We both kind of just stared at each other for a minute - then it happened again. We kissed - we kind of went in at the same time. This time there was tongue involved. I didn't want to - but I knew I had to pull away.

"What are we doing?" I asked - not in a question-y way, but more of a statement-y way.

"I'm attracted to you,"

HOLY HELL! HE'S ATTRACTED TO ME! TO ME! ME!

"I - like you too - but..."

"What?"

"I don't know. Isn't this kinda fast?"

"I don't know. Do you want to slow down?"

Not at all.

"Not really,"

"So what's the problem?"

"I just didn't know if we were on the same page here, I don't kiss people just because it's fun,"

He laughed. "So you think just because I wear a shirt that says 'slut' I do?"

"What? No! I never even made that connection, but now that you mentioned it I - wait, no, not falling for one of those tricks Shane" I said.

He grinned.

"Well, I must say, you are ahead of your time." I said. "You skip the date part and go right to the making out."

"Hey! I like to be deep. I think I can safely say that I'm a sensitive guy," he said, mock offended. I couldn't not laugh. "Hey!" he lightly pushed me. Very lightly. It wasn't even a push, it was just like a touch - a brush if you will.

"Fine then, Mr. Sensitive, engage with me in a deep conversation about -" But I couldn't finish my sentence. Nate and Andy had returned, each holding a tray of shots.

"Do you know how to play the numbers game with shots?" Andy asked me. I shook my head. "We ask you a question and the answer is how many shots you have to take," he explained.

"Oh, sounds like fun. Me first," I said, sitting up, getting prepped.

"Hang on, lemme get Jason and Shaun," Nate said. Before he could go, Shaun and Jason must have had their supersonic hearing switched on because momentarily the two arrived and we all squeezed into the booth. Actually, it was probably the shots that subconsciously called them over.

"Okay, Mitchie, how many …um…" Jason was thinking. "Ah! How many bases have you gone to with a guy?"

"Or a girl," Andy chimed in. Nate punched Shaun. I took three shots.

"Looks like we have ourselves a virgin, gentlemen," Shaun grinned.

"Shut up Shaun, I don't remember you ever being with a lady long enough to get home!" Nate, who was also a little disturbed announced. This night was going to be interesting.

**Thursday November 25**

**3:00 AM**

So I bet you were all expecting me to be hobbling back into the hotel, drunk off my ass (well - so was I), but actually, I wasn't the least bit tipsy. Tired actually, but not really drunk. The only one of us who was really drunk was Shaun, who kept ordering drinks from a waitress because she was, as he put it, 'the sexiest thing in a mini-skirt to ever cross my [his] path'.

Well, like I said, I wasn't drunk. When we got out of the car, I swear I could not have laughed harder. Shaun (even with Nate and Andy helping him) managed to trip over himself and tumble out of the vehicle, his hands missing the breaking of his fall and landing straight on his chest.

"This is the funniest thing I've ever seen," I stifled a giggle, trying to hold it in. Of course, I was not successful. I erupted into another wave of laughter before Shane had to step in and get a hold of me. I was literally, on the ground, laughing so hard that I was crying.

"Come on," he said, helping me up. It was easy to tell that he wanted to laugh too, but how could he convince me to shush when he himself could not? We entered the elevator alone, leaving everyone else with the task of getting Shaun in bed without causing any domestic disturbances. We both kind of just stood there, looking at each other for a minute or so. Shane came closer to me and took my hands. I smiled and snuggled closer to him. He put around his waist and pulled me closer. He brought his lips down to mine and we shared a passionate kiss.

"I - had - lots - of - fun – tonight," I breathed, in between the short kisses we had afterwards.

Once again, may I just say YES!

He smiled and rested his chin on my head as I buried my head in his chest.

"Me too."

I turned around to check what floor we were on; we still had 8 more to go. Man, these things took forever.

But I don't care. At all.

I was about to turn back around to face him but he came up behind me and began caressing my bare arms (I'd left my jacket with Nate) with his hands - they were rough. Mind you, that's what happens when you're a musician. But once again, I DIDN'T CARE! As he did that, he planted butterfly kisses down my neck.

"Mmm that feels nice..." I whispered as his hands travelled down my arms and met my hands. He brought his lips to my ear and whispered,

"I really, really like you."

Cringe.

This cannot be happening.

But it is.

Whoa.

Before we knew it, the elevator door had opened. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. I sighed, pulling him along by the hand. He dug out his key and opened the door. He led me to the bedroom and shut the door. He tried to kiss me again, but I pulled away.

"I'm gonna go change..." I whispered, smiling.

"Okay," he let me go, somewhat reluctantly. I went over to where my luggage was and he went over to one of the drawers. I pulled my usual pyjamas - my pink t-shirt that said 'JUICY' across my chest in black and my black short shorts - and went into the bathroom to change. When I came out, the first thing I saw was shitless Shane.

Oh.

My.

God.

**3:28 AM**

"This is the best day of my life, I swear to God," I muttered to myself, so he definitely, DEFINITELY didn't hear me. I'd said my share of embarrassing things to Shane tonight.

"Wow," he said coming towards me. That's when I noticed not only was he shirtless Shane, but he was pantsless also.

Well, I suppose his boxers did count as pants.

Damn.

"What?" I feigned innocence, striding past him. I didn't want to seem too desperate of course. I walked over to one of my bags and pulled out my iPod.

"You've got killer legs."

"Naw," I said, grinning like a fool.

"I mean it, you could model."

"Yeah, except that's the worst pick up line ever and I'm about 7 inches short of being a model, my Jersey friend."

"Still..." he said coming over to me as I fiddled with my gadget. He was about to put his arms around my waist but I pulled away quickly and went over to the bed and climbed onto it as I put one earpiece in my ear.

"Hey! Are you mad at me?" He questioned, hurt in his eyes. He walked over to me and stood beside the bed.

"No," I smiled, looking at the iPod screen, "Just teasing."

"That's it," he said and pounced on me, pushing me right down to the bed. He pinned my arms with his hands.

"Shane!" I said, half laughing, half yelling. Then I lowered my eyebrows, an idea I had.

"Wouldn't it be a pity," I began, "If my knee was to accidentally meet your groin, sending waves of pain throughout your lower body?"

His expression instantly became horror-stricken which made him loosen his grip on my arms. I tried squirming free but eventually he ended up pinning me down again - this time, I was facing down, so he was basically laying on top of me. He began tickling my sides which of course, made me laugh uncontrollably. I elbowed him as hard as I could, which caused him to fall sideways, gripping his shoulder. He was about to fall off, so I tried to save him by grabbing his other arm. Obviously I couldn't pull him back up so I ended up falling down on top of him. He was face up - I was face down.

HEAVEN!

**3:45 AM**

He didn't waste anytime; he immediately wrapped his legs around mine and his arms around my waist so it was virtually impossible for me to move.

Oh well. Shame, that, hey?

I lowered my head slowly and kissed him deeply, my tongue slowly tracing the shape of his bottom lip. He loosened his grip around my legs and rolled over, so now I was below him - our lips never parting.

"Mitchie, are you dressed still?" we heard from outside. Without warning, the door flew open.

"Mitchie?!"

**Thursday, November 25**

**4:00 AM**

"Uh, Nate! Hey..." I said, trying to think of something to say to justify my current position. "This isn't what it looks like!"

Wow. Nice work, Torres.

"What the hell is going on?" Nate accused, throwing his arms up in question.

"Uh, Shane," I said, "This would be a good time for you to, uh, get off me."

"Huh? Oh right," he comprehended, quickly climbing off.

"I don't believe this," Nate said, shaking his head.

"Nathan, calm down," I said, standing up straight.

"HOW can I calm down? HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?"

"Maybe I should leave you two al-" Shane began to say.

"NO!" Nate yelled and turned to Shane. "What do you think you're doing, man?"

"Whoa, chill out man, it was just kissing"

"It was not! It was making out! HALF-NAKED ON THE GODDAMN FLOOR!"

"Well technically, were not BOTH half naked…" I said, but as soon as I did, I realized I should just let Natey let all his anger out. Why was he acting so insane anyway? He should be happy for us.

For me anyway.

Shouldn't he?

He should.

"What are you thinking, man?" he said to Shane. "She just broke up with her boyfriend!"

"Hey, I'm still in the room," I said, annoyed. Isn't it the worst when people are talking about you like you're not?

"Mitchie, I'm TALKING!"

Hey! He can't take that tone with me. I'm a princess.

"Don't yell at her!" Shane defended.

AWW!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was SO worth Nate yelling at me.

SO worth it.

"Shane!"

"Nate!"

"Dude, you're in a fucking band! You said it yourself; you don't even have time to call your MOM! What makes you think you can have a RELATIONSHIP?"

"Whoa, that's my personal business, Nate."

"Not when she's involved!"

"She can speak for herself Nate!"

"She doesn't KNOW what she's getting herself INTO!"

"NATHAN!" I finally said. I'd had enough. "I've been really patient for the past minute of your petty bickering, but this is where I draw the line! I really appreciate what you're trying to do, really, I really, really, do, but I am my own person! I make my own decisions!"

"MITCHIE, there is a REASON why NONE OF US HAVE GIRLFRIENDS!" Nate yelled, his eyes staring at me wildly.

"Well, boyfriend in Jason's case," Shane chuckled.

"This is NOT the time for jokes!" Nate said, shooting him a glare. I chuckled a bit, but stopped once Nate looked back at me. It was creepy, I felt like I was in detention or something.

"What, you don't think I know that he's in a fucking band?!" I said. "You think I'm some stupid little thing living in my own fantasy where everything is perfect? Well I've got a newsflash for you, Nathan, I'm NOT!"

"I would NEVER think that!"

"When did you all of a sudden become my father?"

"When yours left!"

"So this is what this was all about? You flew me all the way out here so you can keep an eye on me?! Well thanks for the offer but I decline!" I yelled furiously. Nate was not my father.

He wasn't even my real brother!

His heart was in the right place I guess.

But TOO bad! I am not a little girl! I don't need him to baby sit me!

I hastily threw open my suitcase and walked into the bathroom. I came out with my arms full of my various cosmetics and creams and spilled them all into the suitcase. Nothing else had really been unpacked so I slammed the top down.

"What are you doing?" Nate asked, watching me.

"I'm going home. It was nice seeing you again. Let me know when it's been another 5 months!" I hollered.

"That's not what this is about!" he said, coming over to me.

"I'm sorry, Shane, this is awfully embarrassing, but it seems as though I have no choice as the president here has put a fucking blockade around me!" I said, referring to Nate.

Bastard.

"No wait, don't go?" Shane pleaded. He made puppy dog eyes. I wanted to melt.

"There's no point in me staying, Shane. I like you, but Nate's family. I have to honour his wishes," I turned to glare at Nate, "Even if they are completely selfish."

"Wait a minute," Shane said, holding out his hands as if he was stopping traffic. Had he come up with some kind of miracle loop?

Please let that be true. Please, please, please, please.

Please.

"You told me you liked Josh when you met him. Now look what happened. You were wrong about him!" he said to Nate. "You don't know everything."

"That was like a year ago! What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"It means you thought it would work out, but it didn't. You were wrong, and I think you're wrong about this one," Shane reasoned hopefully.

May God bless Shane's little heart. How smart is he?

And how sweet! He's doing this all for me!

Right?

Not just so he can get in my pants, but because he likes me, right?

Yes.

Definitely.

"And you're telling me this in your boxers, which in them you were about to get it on with her?" Nate said, cocking his eyebrow and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Hey, I am not that kind of girl!" I exclaimed, putting my hands up. What the hell kind of girl did Nate think I was?

"Do you really want her to leave?" Shane asked. Nate was silent for a moment or so. He looked at me.

"The only way you'll stay is if I let this...'thing'...happen?" I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Fine. Do what you want, but if you get hurt don't say I didn't warn you," Nate said, putting his hands up in defeat.

"Seriously?" I said, with a potential grin just waiting to spring up.

"I don't really have a choice," he grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ahh!" I squealed running up to him. I gave him a great big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Natey, you're the best!" Nate shrugged and left the room, I guess the atmosphere was getting weird for him. I looked at Shane with a huge smile on my face. Neither of us said anything.

"Thanks," I said, shrugging. "You didn't have to do that though... Nate's my problem."

"But I wanted to...I really like you,"

"I like you too," I said, coming closer to him. "Nate... he's just overprotective I guess."

"We don't have to talk about Nate now, do we?" Shane asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"That stuff about Josh... you remembered what Nate said a year ago?"

Shane shrugged. "I remember everything Nate has ever said about you."

Wait, what?

Oh my god.

Is that sweet?

Or stalkerish?

I'm gonna go with...umm...sweet.

"Since we met."

"Shane, we met when I was thirteen."

"I know - I was seventeen."

"Five years seems like a really long time ago..." I said, remembering when we met.

It was the day I came back from my vacation in Egypt. I remember I was really depressed because I could never get a tan in Jersey like I had in Cairo and I knew that after one week back I'd be pale again. I was sitting on the floor of my room, unpacking my clothes when the phone rang. It was Nate; he wanted to know if I wanted to come to his house and watch his band practice.

Of course I was really excited, I never heard Natey play with a band, just by his lonesome. He lived just a few blocks away, so I walked over. I could hear them playing within a block away and got really excited so I ran the rest of the way. They were finishing the song by the time I made it there. I stood in front of the garage and clapped as the three boys looked over and grinned. As soon as they finished, Nate came over to me and lifted me up, spinning around.

"How was your vacation?"

"It was a blast," I said, as he put me down.

"You guys this is my cousin, Mitchie," he introduced me as the two other members looked towards me. "That's Jason," he said, pointing to a boy on guitar, "...and Shane. Those two sitting over there are friends of ours, Shaun and Andy," Nate explained, except I wasn't listening. I was staring at Shane, with a goofy grin on my face, I'm sure. He was so fucking hot. But of course, I didn't tell anyone I thought that until Nate asked me on the phone the night he invited me to Australia.

I stayed and watched them play a few songs. Shane sang mostly, Nate did backup. Shane's voice rocked. In fact, everything physical about Shane rocked.

Everything about Shane still rocks today. It rocks even more because now his arms are wrapped around my waist and he's in his boxers.

Awesome.

**The next story I update will be BYAI. :)**

**Please review lovelies – they're the chocolate to my peanut butter! **

**Bree. xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**The names used in here are my big thank you's to Amanda and Ella. You know what you've said and done :D****  
****Just to re-establish, this isn't a Camp Rock story, it's a Connect3 story.**

**Thanks for those who review, each and every single one makes me smile.**

**Thursday, November 25****  
****12:30 PM**

I woke up with the sound of a loud bang followed by a curse word that came from inside the room. I groggily opened one eye and then remembered where I was - and who with.

May I just take this moment to say: Hell. Yes.

I looked around the room, but I couldn't see Shane anywhere. I swear I'd just heard him in here. Maybe I was hearing things. I closed my eyes and went to drift off back to sleep when I heard a whimpering coming from the floor at the end of the bed.

Oh right, did I mention it was a double bed?

No?

Well it is.

I jerked my head up and saw Shane on the floor, fully dressed with his wet hair hanging in his face, gripping his foot.

"What happened?" I asked, groggily.

Shane looked up at me. I think he was crying.

"Shit, did I wake you? Sorry!" He apologised, his eyes burning with chagrin. "I accidentally kicked my foot into your bag - what do you keep in there, bricks?" I tried not to laugh at his grimace.

"Sorry," I had to cover my mouth so he wouldn't see the smile on my face. I threw the covers off me and hopped off the bed, down to him.

"HOLY FUCK, it's cold!" I exclaimed as the cold of the room whipped my now uncovered body. I could feel the goosebumps crawling their way up my arms and legs.

"Oh yeah, the air conditioning goes on in the morning. I think I'm used to it," he said, scratching his head for a moment. He reached over and wrapped his arms around me tight.

"Warm now?" he questioned, his eyes sparkling.

Yes. I am.

"Better," I amended, smiling at him.

"I think I'm going… to get… dressed," I said slowly, trying to form a coherent sentence. Hard thing to do actually – given my circumstances.

"We don't have any band stuff to do today, so we can do whatever you want," he said, his eyes following me as I lightly spun out of his arms and walked towards the bathroom.

"Really? I want to do some Christmas shopping."

"Christmas?"

"Duh, we only have four weeks." I said, rolling my eyes at him. In response, he poked his tongue out at me.

"Alright, turn around, I'm getting changed."

"Why? I already saw you in your skimpy little PJ's last night."

I could hear the smirk in his voice.

Ah good, dirty Shane was in there still.

"If you ever want to see it again, turn around and shut up."

He did as he was told.

Insert whip noise here.

Cue grin.

I didn't realise what clothes I'd actually pulled out of the dresser, I was too busy keeping up the mental game between Shane and I.

"Who's Steve Madden?" he asked, reading my shirt.

"Why are you looking at my chest?" I said, smiling, answering his question with a question.

"Do you want to eat first?" he asked me, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Maybe we can get someone to say, 'Crikey'," I said in my attempt at an Australian accent. It proved to be too much for him. Shane doubled over laughing at my pathetic attempt. He wiped the tears from his eyes and opened the door, still grinning. We went around the corner to Nate's room and knocked on the door. Andy answered the door.

"Where's Nate?" I asked, peering over his shoulder.

"He, Jason and Shaun went out about an hour ago."

"Oh, well we're going to go do Christmas shopping, want to come?" I asked – secretly hoping his answer was no so I could spend some alone time with Shane.

"No thanks, I've got a massive headache from last night. I think I'm just gonna hang around."

Thank you. I owe you one, buddy.

"Oh - well, sorry for the knocking then," I said smiling. He shrugged.

"See you later man," Shane said as he and I made our way down the hall. "Where do you want to eat?" He asked me after I pushed the button for an elevator.

"I don't know. Where's good?" I asked, moving closer towards him. He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"Depends...what are you in the mood for?"

YOU! YOU, YOU, YOU, AND NOTHING BUT YOU!

"Mmm... strawberries... ice-cream... chocolate..." I mumbled out. He smiled and brought his lips down to mine. The kiss didn't last even a second before the elevator doors opened. We quickly broke apart, just in case there were people in there.

There weren't.

Damn.

After he pushed the button for the foyer, he backed me up into a corner and began kissing me. I tried not to smile – I didn't want to waste one moment when I could be kissing him.

"You smell good," he noted, after we broke apart.

"Glow by J Lo."

"So that's what she smells like..." he wondered absentmindedly.

"I doubt she wears her own line, Shane" I said, patting his back patronizingly.

"Why not?"

I wasn't about to explain to him why it's different when you wear your own clothing line and perfume, so I changed the subject - slightly.

"What do you care what J Lo smells like?"

"I don't, I - hey! You can't pull one over me, Mitchie, I'm too smart for that," he said, crossing his arms proudly.

"Oh, really? Are you smart enough to realize your shoes don't match?" I said, getting off the elevator when the doors opened.

"What?" he looked down and almost missed the stop. "My shoes match!"

"Gotcha."

Shane ran up, grabbing me from behind. He turned me around and lifted me over his shoulder.

"PUT ME DOWN!"

Don't let me go.

I kicked my legs and hit his back with my fists. This of course, was in the middle of the lobby which wasn't exactly empty. He spun me around a few times, laughing about, until I gasped.

"Oh my God!"

"What?" he said, setting me down, sounding worried. I turned him around so he could see who was sitting in the lobby reading a magazine.

"What?" he repeated, now looking genuinely confused.

"That's Matt Willis!" I whispered, getting all giddy.

"Who?"

"From Busted!"

"Who?"

"They used to be a really big pop band from the UK, oh my god I LOVED them!" I said. "Come on, let's go say hi!"

He rolled his eyes as I dragged him over to Matt.

"Um, sorry to bother you," I began, standing over him. He set his magazine down and looked up at me. "Um, I'm Mitchie, this is Shane. I'm a REALLY big fan of yours and I uh, just wanted to say hi," I said, smiling widely. I was better at this than I thought. He smiled and stood up.

"It's nice to meet you, Mitchie, and Shane. Hi."

"Well, we'll leave you alone now, thanks," I said, backing away. He smiled.

"Bye," he waved and chuckled to himself.

I turned around quickly and pulled Shane by the hand.

"Wow!" I said when we exited the hotel, "He said my name, and said hi to me!"

"Wow, he deserves and Oscar," Shane mumbled sarcastically.

"Shane, shut up. I don't get to meet celebrities everyday like you do - and you don't count so don't even go there,"

"I don't count?" he said, laughing.

"No. 'Cause I already know you. Duh." He laughed. "Now, lead me to ice-cream." I ordered as his hand brushed against mine. His fingers laced confidently with mine and I grinned.

**1:00 PM**

We entered a gourmet ice cream shop and ordered a sundae. He's such a sweetie he let me choose whatever I wanted in it. We took it outside and sat on the curb.

"Do you want the cherry?" he asked, holding the stem. I brought my lips to it and bit the cherry off. He smiled at me, his eyes dancing. We took turns feeding each other spoonfuls of ice cream. It was sweet. But in the same way, oh so incredibly lame. I didn't even want to go shopping anymore (which is a big deal, because I live to shop), I just wanted to be alone with him.

"Do you want to go back?" I asked him as I licked the last ice-cream remnants off his spoon. Then my own.

"What about Christmas?"

"We can do it a different day... I just want to stay in I think."

"Okay," he smiled and kissed me. This time I had to smile. My smiling broke the kiss, but it was just as well, these two girls, about 12 or 13 approached us.

"Hey there, um, are you Shane Gray?" one of them asked in a strong Australian accent.

"If so, may we have your autograph?" the second asked, blushing furiously.

_Play nice, _I pleaded with my eyes. He caught the silent message and nodded minutely back at me.

Shane smiled and nodded as they handed him a pen. "Sorry, all we have are these sticky notes," the second said with chagrin, pulling from her purse yellow squares of paper.

"That's okay," Shane said, "You can have my hat." He took it off his head. "What are your names?"

"Amanda and Ella," the first one said. It was her turn to blush.

"Wow, that's really nice of you, thanks," she smiled as he handed it to her, they looked at him shyly for a moment. I could sense what they were after. He held his arms out and Amanda and Ella looked at each other for a split second before bounding into his outstretched arms. They pulled away and smiled sweetly.

"Thank you," they muttered in unison before giggling like mad and running off.

"That was sweet, Mr. Gray," I said as we began walking back towards the hotel. He shrugged.

"I love my fans."

This boy was amazing. Under that tough 'Shane Gray: Rockstar' persona, there was still that boy that I'd first met all those years ago underneath.

**1:45 PM**

We walked slowly back to the hotel, hand in hand, revelling in the touch of the other. We got back to our room and noticed all the guys were there.

"Hey," they chorused simultaneously as we walked in.

"No luck shopping?" Andy questioned, noticing our lack of bags. I shrugged.

"We're going to watch a movie," I stated, as Shane followed me into the bedroom.

"No funny business, we can hear everything that goes on you know!" Nate called after us. Shane laughed and shut the door, locking it.

"What do you want to watch?" Shane asked me, looking at the list of movies the hotel TV programming offered.

"I don't know. What do they have?" I said, coming over to him.

He read off the list out loud: "Lord of the Rings, Titanic, The Ring, Moulin Rouge, Wuthering Heights and… Behind Enemy Lines."

"Wuthering Heights!" was my immediate response. He made a face. "It's either that or Titanic," I said, crossing my arms. He pouted.

How can I say no to that face?

I can't.

Really, I can't.

I soon found myself sitting in his lap, on the floor, watching The Ring. At first I was like - eh, this isn't so scary - but as the movie progressed my nerves started shaking up. I think he smelled my fear.

"Calm down, it's not that bad," he breathed into my ear, his arms tightening protectively around me.

"Yeah, maybe for you -" I said, my voice shaking. "But unlike you, I haven't seen this six times!"

"We don't restock the tour bus with new movies very often-" he began, trying to justify himself, but just then, the scene with all the dead horses in the water flashed across the scene.

"Oh god that's sick!" I said, turning my head, covering my face. He laughed.

"Hey, it's okay," he rubbed my shoulders and then wrapped his arms securely around my waist again. I couldn't help smiling - Shane just had that - 'thing' that just made me smile all the time.

Plus did I mention he's the hottest guy in the whole fucking world?

The next half hour or so was a little better - but then the nail-biting, pivotal moments started up again.

"Not my shoelaces!" I heard suddenly. That totally broke my engagement and concentration into the movie. I turned to look at Shane - he was sleeping. "Without them I have nothing to keep me sane!"

I don't want to know what he was dreaming about.

Or why.

I did know, however, that it was my humane duty to let him sleep. I tried to reach over and grab the remote from a few feet away, but my movement caused him to stir - so I quickly went back to how I was sitting before. Then I tried to carefully push his arms away from me so that he could lie down - but my mere touching him caused him to just squeeze me tighter.

Not that I'm complaining.

I sat there for a good ten minutes - trying to figure out what to do. I didn't even pay attention to the movie. I felt bad for him though; the best thing for him was probably sleep anyway, with all his band stuff going on. I'd even bet that if he didn't primp himself up every morning he'd have huge bags under his eyes. Poor thing.

"Give me my shoelaces back you evil glue stick!" he spasmed. "Hah I've got you now!" he began squeezing me really, really tight. It started to hurt - I was having trouble breathing. Despite what I said before - now this was just getting out of hand - I had to wake him up.

"Shane -" I said, trying to get some air. "Shane, wake up," I grabbed his wrists and tried to pry myself away. "I'm not a glue stick and I don't have your shoelaces - please, wake up Shane,"

"Liar!" he retorted - still asleep.

"Shane, my darling, look down at your shoes - your shoelaces are there still," I said.

"What? Huh?" Shane was waking up. His eyes were flickering until they opened. "What's going on?"

"You fell asleep."

"Oh, I'm sorry." He scratched his head. "Did you like the movie?" I turned back to the screen - the credits were rolling.

"Huh? Oh yeah – scary," I nodded. I had now relocated myself so I was sitting directly on the floor, facing him.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked me.

"No, no, no, we already did what I wanted to do. These are your days off, what do YOU want to do?" He smiled shrugging. I could tell he was thinking about it because he was staring aimlessly at a ceiling corner.

"How about I teach you how to skateboard?"

Bless his little sincere heart - but I had burst out laughing.

"Yeah and then you can take me to the hospital after I break my fucking neck!" I said, still laughing.

"No, come on, it will be fun," he said, standing up. "You said what I want to do and it's what I want to do, come on," he said offering his hand. I sighed - still unsure. "I won't let you get hurt, I promise." I smiled and took his hand as he pulled me up.

"Okay! Now put some sneakers on and we can go," he said, reaching under the bed to retrieve a black skateboard with stickers all over it. I sighed and went over to my bag. I dug for a few minutes through my shoes until I found my black and white Vans - I remembered packing them, thinking that if I didn't, I'd most likely wish I had, so I did.

Thank god. I mean – I was going to have a hard enough time doing this, let alone trying it in heels or bare feet.

Ten minutes later, we found ourselves outside about a quarter of a mile away from the hotel on a sidewalk of a shopping strip. I was sure that skateboards weren't allowed. Oh well.

"Okay, now watch me," he said, setting it down. He stepped onto it and pushed off, going as far as ten feet away. He turned around and came back. "Okay, now you try," he smiled confidently at me, stepping off the board.

"Uh, Shane, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing," I said, feeling like an idiot. He laughed.

"Put your left foot on the board, and then slowly push with your right foot," I did what he said and after I got a few feet away he told me to put my right foot on the board as well. I think I did it wrong - well obviously I did it wrong, because the next thing I knew I had tripped over myself and I had fallen off the sidewalk completely. The board had flipped over and landed a few meters away from me. Shane came running over to me.

"Ow..." I moaned. I had landed on my side and hurt that side of my stomach badly. Or the pain was bad, anyway.

"Shit, are you okay?" he said, laughing as he spoke.

"This isn't funny, Shane, I'm in real pain here!" I whined, rubbing the part of my stomach that hurt, tears threatening to spill over.

"Here, sit up," he said helping me. He lifted my shirt hem up a few centimetres and revealed an inch-long scratch with fresh blood seeping from it.

"Don't worry, it'll stop hurting soon," he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a black bandana.

"Here," he said, softly wiping the blood.

"But that's your-"

"It's okay I have a hundred of these," he said. He looked up at me and smiled. I grinned.

Oh I couldn't be mad at him. He was just too...

...irresistable!

He folded the bandana over a few times and gave it to me.

"You can keep that," he said, standing up. He helped me up and then went to retrieve his board. "Ready to go again?"

"Hah! No."

"Come on, you can't quit after your first fall!" he said, looking slightly disappointed.

"Maybe a different day," I hedged with him.

He didn't needed to know I never intended getting on a skateboard again. _Watching_ him on the skateboard was a different matter entirely though.

"No, come on. Then you can be cool like me."

I laughed.

"I'm a fragile person here! I don't exactly take these gashing blemishes very well!" I said, lifting my hem line and pointing at it. He rolled his eyes and came over to me, setting his board down. He knelt down and kissed my stomach right below where the scratch was.

"Better?"

"Hmm... I don't know..." I said, my lips curling at the ends. He smiled, standing up. He towered over me a good six or seven inches, especially now that I was wearing flat shoes. He put one hand at the small of my back and the other he laced with mine. He dipped me and kissed me hard and passionately and then slowly brought me back up.

That was so hot.

Okay, so it was done in public, but still.

SO hot.

"Okay I'll try again," he grinned as he dipped me back down.

**5:25 PM**

I returned back to the hotel (with Shane) with the gash on my stomach, a scratched up left arm, two scraped knees and a sprained pinky finger.

"It wasn't bad for your first time," he said as we entered the elevator. I gave him a look.

"People will think I tried to kill myself - look at me!" I said, showing him my arm. He just laughed.

"You look fine. We'll go again tomorrow."

"Yeah, no."

"Oh right, we've got some appearance to make anyway, how about Saturday?"

"Shane, no."

"Aww, come on!"

"Skateboarding is just not my thing." He looked disappointed.

That made me sad.

"How about on Saturday we can go to like a park or something and you can skateboard your heart out and I'll watch? I love to watch skateboarders. They make me hot," I winked at him. He grinned back in response.

"So what about dinner?" he asked.

"I dunno, whatever everyone else wants, I guess," I shrugged. Just then the elevator doors opened and standing there was Matt!

SO hot.

Not as hot as my Shane though.

Duh.

"Oh - hello again, Mitchie?" he hedged.

I think I'm going to faint.

I nodded, not believing that he _remembered _my name.

"H- Hi," I stammered. I'm sure my face was all pink and my smile was probably 8 feet wide.

"...and um, Shaun, yeah?" he said to Shane. I didn't even give Shau- I mean Shane a chance to correct him.

"So, you're on this floor too?" I said, not taking my eyes away from him.

Can you say star struck?

Pathetic.

"Well – was. My flight leaves at midnight. I was just going to go catch a couple of movies before then," he smiled in his thick British accent.

"You should celebrate your last hours in Australia! Come out with us tonight!" I grinned.

Oh my god. I can't believe I just did that.

"Aww, thanks, but I can't - being a third wheel and all, it's-"

"You won't!" I blurted. "There are four other guys with us. Come on, it will be fun!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, right, Shane?" I said, turning to him.

"I guess so?" Shane shrugged questionably. After a few minutes deliberation, we decided to meet in the lobby at seven.

"You know he was totally checking you out," Shane said, as we walked to the room.

"No he wasn't," I said. "He was probably just wondering where I got all these scratches."

"I doubt it," Shane said, pulling out the room key.

"Even if he was, I can't help it if I'm super hot. Beauty is a curse, you know," I attempted to lighten the mood, following him in. He laughed, rolling his eyes.

Bam. Comedy gets them every time.

"I'm going to go get ready then." I walked over to him and kissed his lips. He locked his arms around my waist and ran his tongue along my bottom lip, inadvertently sending chills down my spine.

"Or maybe I can get ready a little later?" I said in the few seconds that our lips parted. He smiled as I jumped on to him, wrapping my legs around him. Still kissing, he made his, err- our, way to the bedroom and set me down on the bed. He began attacking my neck with his lips and tongue. My hands travelled lightly up and down his back. Then there was a knock at the door.

Fuck off.

Why does this happen so often?

Shane climbed off me and went over to the door and opened it.

It was Shaun.

"Uh, hey guys," Shaun sensed the atmosphere was a little uncomfortable for him, "I just wanted to let you know that uh, Andy's really sick so we're gonna stay in tonight." Shane and I nodded.

"Okay," Shane said. Andy turned on his heel and walked away.

"Guess I better break it off with Matt then, hey?" I said, sitting up. Shane shrugged.

I got up and left the room. I went out into the corridor and went to find Matt's room. Luckily he'd told it to me when we decided to do the 7 o'clock thing. I knocked on the door and waited outside. I still couldn't believe I was actually knocking on Matt Willis' door.

"Hey," he smiled, opening the door.

"Uh hey," I said.

"Err, come in," he gestured, moving aside. I shrugged and walked in. The suite was pretty much the same as ours. Nothing to be awestruck at.

"Do you want a drink?" he asked me, going over to the mini bar.

"Uh, no thanks," I smiled politely.

"Okay then, have a seat?" he said, going over to the couches. I followed him but didn't sit down.

"Uh listen, I'm REALLY sorry- but, one of the guys got sick so...we can't make it out tonight. I'm really sorry."

"Naw, it's okay," he said, smiling. I still felt bad though. Then there was a moment of silence - a little awkward if you ask me.

"Um... so yeah." I said, breaking the silence. I turned towards the door.

"Wait," he said, standing up. He came over to me. "Err...it was nice meeting you," he said, offering his hand. I shook it briefly, smiling.

His eyes were sparkling.

Suddenly he brushed his lips against mine - and kissed me! I didn't even have time to think - instantly I pushed him away, slapping him across the face.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I half screamed, half accused. Yeah - he was hot, but he was like 8 years older than me! Plus - back before, he assumed I was with Shane - so why did he do that? I glared at him and quickly left the room, I rushed back to the suite so he wouldn't be able to follow me.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Shane said when I entered the room. I guess my glare was still on my face.

"No."

"What happened?"

"He kissed me!"

I can't believe I just said it straight out like that. Shane's face went red.

"You kissed him?"

"No, _he_ kissed _me_!"

"I thought you liked me!"

"What? I do! Don't you listen? _He_ kissed me!"

"Oh yeah and I bet you did a lot to stop him, right?"

"Shane, I pushed him away!"

"Yeah, but not before you let him stick his tongue down your throat, right?"

"Shane, would you _listen_ to yourself? What are you saying?"

"I saw you get all googly-eyed around him, you think I'm gonna believe that you didn't like it?"

"Well you should!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

How dare he.

"It's no wonder Josh did what he did."

0.0

How?

HOW could he say that?

That was it. Tears began welling up in my eyes.

"I should have listened to Nate," I said coldly before stepping away and going out the door.

**Tell me what you think!!****  
****I really want to know – truly, I do. Good or bad :D**

**Shankssss,****  
****Bree****  
****xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**I was going to update BYAI, but I just got home from a show, and this chapter was already written.  
So, because I'm lazy and didn't feel like tweaking BYAI, I'm posting this just for you guys so I can jet off to bed and dream beautiful things about my lovely boys in Short Stack.  
Which reminds me; everyone should check them out! They're amazing. :) **

**.com/shortstackband****  
Go, go, go my sweetpeas!  
**

**Thursday, November 25**

**6:05 PM**

About five seconds down the hallway, Shane came after me, so I picked up my pace. So did he.

"Mitchie!" he raised his voice to get my attention. Then I started running. I didn't want to look at him.

"Mitchie, wait!" he called after me.

"WHAT?" I exclaimed, turning around.

"Oh shit, you're crying..."

"THANK YOU, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!" I spat, stepping back. I think that's when I stopped crying - I was too focused on my rage.

"Shit, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he said, trying to come closer to me.

I stepped back.

"Why did you say those things to me?" I asked. I knew he could hear the hurt in my voice. My eyes and nose were red - my voice was all razory - you know when you're so mad your voice kind of becomes scratchy? Yeah - it was like that.

"I-" he began, "I don't know. I'm sorry."

That was not an acceptable answer by my standards. I glared at him and turned around quickly. He ran after me again.

"No wait!!"

He ran ahead of me and stepped in my way so I couldn't get past him.

"Sha-"

"I was jealous okay? I was jealous!" he cut me off.

Jealous?

He was jealous?

I stepped back. "Jealous?"

"Yeah, that Matt is a good looking guy how do I know you won't just go off with him?"

"You're supposed to trust me, Shane!"

"I know -I just -" He paused and looked down. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he murmured softly.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"What?" I asked, also softly.

"You're so beautiful - you can have anyone you want - but I want you to be with me."

!!

Don't give in, DON'T GIVE IN! You're supposed to be MAD at him, Mitchie!

I couldn't help it. I had to.

"I want...that," I said, drifting closer to him.

"Will you forgive me?" he asked, also coming closer.

His eyes. OH HIS EYES.

"Of course I'll forgive you," I said. I started crying again for reasons unbeknownst to me. He hugged me tightly and I buried my head in his chest.

"Please don't cry, baby, I'm sorry - I'll never do that to you again - I'll never make you cry, I'm sorry," he said, rocking me from side to side.

**Sunday, November 28**

**3:38 PM**

Friday came and went. The boys had some band stuff to do so I just explored the hotel - took a yoga class, went swimming, went to the gym. Saturday at the park, Shane did all these flippy thingies over benches. God, he looked hot on that board. I just wanted to jump him then and there. We then took a walk on the beach where he unexpectedly lifted me up and threw me in the water with all my clothes on. I forced him to give me his shirt and he had to walk around shirtless until I decided to go back to the hotel.

Not that I minded or anything.

I'm sure none of the female passer-bys did either. It was a wonder that we didn't get mobbed. Well, it's a wonder that _Shane_ didn't get mobbed. Seemed these Australian girls were more laid back than their American counterparts.

We were now at some mall doing the Christmas shopping I had wanted to do earlier.

"I am so getting this for Shaun," I giggled in some beachwear stall in the middle of the plaza. I showed Shane this long white t-shirt with a full length woman's body in a bikini minus the head part. Shane laughed.

"So what do you want for Christmas?" He asked me after I paid and we left the stall. I smiled.

"I don't want you to get me anything - you guys have already done enough for me," I said.

"Aww, come on, there's got be something you want."

"There are a lot of things I want, trust me though; they're not things you can buy."

"Are you gonna get all sentimental?" He asked, seemingly worriedly.

"I thought you were Mr. Sensitive!" He shrugged. "Fine, I'll tell you what I really want but you have to promise me that you won't laugh."

"I promise," he said.

"Okay. Ever since I was like five I've always wanted to spend Christmas eve at some fancy royal party ball thingy, you know like with gowns and those sophisticated quartet bands and champagne and like tiaras and stuff. Kind of like Cinderella times."

I think he wanted to laugh.

I needed to change the subject.

"So what do you want for Christmas?"

"I don't want a lot for Christmas..." he began singing. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly my cell phone started ringing - my ringtone was 'Here in Your Arms' by HelloGoodbye.

It could only have been one person.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I forgot to reprogram my phone.

"Aren't you going to pick it up?" Shane asked me quizzically as I pulled the offending item out of my bag and stared at the caller ID screen.

I didn't want to tell him who it was - I didn't want him to get worried or mad. I nodded, picking up.

"Hello?"

"Mitchie - I'm glad I finally got you - I came by your house and called a bunch of times. Where are you?" Josh said.

"Why are you calling me?" I snapped. I had no time for idiotic banter.

"I miss you - and I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking! I'm such an idiot."

"Yeah - you are."

"Will you please meet me tonight? I want to talk."

"Fine. Be at Gorgie's Creperie at er-- wait a minute, what are you thinking, calling me at this hour?" I said, trying to figure out exactly what time it was in Jersey.

"Um.. it's 9 in the morning... Is this a bad time?"

"Creperie at 7," I said and hung up.

"I love that place!" Shane grinned. "Wait a minute. We're in Australia."

"I know. But Josh doesn't." I said, smiling. "He also doesn't know he just paid for a call to Australia."

"Wow you're a bitch!" Shane laughed.

"I guess you'd better hope never to get on my bad side."

**7:18 PM**

After an entire afternoon of shopping, Shane and I returned back to the hotel room, our arms full of bags and gifts.

"I can't wait to wrap them all up. That's like, my favourite thing to do," I said, as we waited in the elevator.

"Seriously? I can't stand it," Shane disagreed. "How can you sit there for hours just wrapping boxes? Ugh, and the sound of tape ripping? It's the worst," he said. I just laughed. "I saved myself some sanity and got all my stuff wrapped at the stores." I just shook my head, rolling my eyes.

Bah Humbug on him.

When we entered our hotel room, Nate and Andy were in there with two girls I'd never seen before.

"Oh hey guys," Nate said as we entered.

"Hey," Shane and I said at the same time, looking curiously towards the new girls.

"This is Tess and Caitlyn. They're sisters." Nate said as we set our stuff down.

"Yeah," Andy added, "We were driving around in a golf cart and accidentally hit these two on theirs."

"So we decided to make up for it by inviting them back here," Nate continued.

"Oh. That's nice. I'm Mitchie," I introduced myself to both of them.

"Shane," Shane said.

"Nice to meet you," Tess - the one sitting next to Andy said.

Caitlyn just smiled in agreement with Tess's statement. She was sitting next to Nate. I guess they seemed like nice girls. Clearly Australian – with their thick accents permeating the room. Shane and I set the stuff down in the bedroom and shared a quick kiss before heading back out into the lounge room.

"Do you guys want dinner? We're starving," Nate said to us when we came back out.

"Yeah," Shane answered. I nodded along too.

**8:00 PM**

The four of them, Shane and I, plus Jason and Shaun all found ourselves squeezing into a booth at some Australian cafe. It ended up being a lot of fun. But then again, how could it not when I was with some of the funniest guys on the planet. After general girl chat and the like I found out Tess turned out to be 21 and Caitlyn was 19. They were both studying at a University outside of Sydney, but were out here for the holidays. I think the boys have really taken a liking to them.

I think I suddenly realized why Nate was so protective of me from Shane - not just that he was in a band factor, but also, I think he didn't want to see me let other people into my life like that - kind of like I was feeling about Caitlyn.

I didn't know her well enough yet, and I didn't know if Nate would really get anywhere with her and if a real relationship would spawn - but I knew that I felt a hint of sadness, because, well, Nate really was like my big brother - and I didn't want anyone to take him away from me.

By the end of dinner we were all laughing our asses off. Somehow Shaun always ends up being the butt of the funny jokes. This time was no different. Jason and Shaun decided to go girl-hunting, and the remaining three distinct couples went different ways.

Shane and I ended up strolling along the beach.

"I really like Tess" I said, once we stepped onto the sand. "Plus she and Andy are cute together. Tess and Andy. Andy and Tess. Same with Nate and Caitlyn. Caitlyn and Nate. It kinda rolls off your tongue." I figured now I was speaking to myself more than to Shane.

"Okay?" Shane said, his brows furrowed in confusion. He laced his fingers with mine as we moved closer to the black water that was casually lapping at the sand. We sat down just a few meters it as to not get wet. Shane lay down on his back and I rested my head on his chest. We were both looking up at the stars.

"I can't believe I'm here," I murmured in amazement.

"I'm glad you're here," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. I smiled and flipped myself over to reach up and kiss him. I threw my other leg around to the other side of him so I was now – for lack of a better word – straddling him. He pressed my body down to his, our lips crashing.

I don't think I've ever made out with someone for that long without stopping. My lips were swollen and my head swirling by the time we were done. We must have fallen asleep on the beach, because the next thing I remembered was the sound of the high tide crashing against the sand. I raised my head from Shane's chest and shook him lightly. I grabbed his arm to look at his watch.

Holy crap! 2 am?

"Shane, wake up! We have to go back," I whispered. Slowly his eyes fluttered open. I helped him up off the sand as we quickly made our way to the wooden steps leading off the beach. The moon had made the sand freezing and we both winced in pain as our feet started to go numb. We stood, leaning over the wooden fence that fenced off the dunes, just watching the waves for a few minutes. His arm snaked out and around me shoulders, pulling me into him and keeping me warm.

Maybe I was dreaming?

Nah. This was better than I ever could have dreamed.

When we got back, Nate and Caitlyn were asleep in each others arms on the couch in our room.

Cute, but a little fast?

No?

Who am I to talk? Shane and I made out within the first night of my arrival.

I sighed.

Why didn't Nate ever use his own room?

"That looks like fun," Shane whispered, when we passed the two.

"Wanna try it?" I smirked at him, pulling him into the room.

**Monday, November 29**

**6:00 AM**

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

Routinely, I rolled over and without even looking; I let my fist plummet to the alarm. Except I missed. I hit something - or someone instead. I opened one eye and jerked my head up.

Duh. I wasn't in school anymore. That wasn't _my_ alarm clock.

Duh.

"Fuck... oww," I heard moaning mixed with a stifled sob.

Oops.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

"Turn it off...." I moaned, although I doubt he heard me, my face was buried in a pillow. I think he tried to reach over to it, but his hand must have caught on the wire or something and he ended up knocking it to the floor. Thank god it was carpet otherwise it would've made one loud crash.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

"Shut up..." Shane moaned. He slowly wriggled his way out of bed and kneeled down to the ground where it was. He finally turned it off and set it back up on the nightstand. He walked around to the other side of the bed, my side and knelt down beside me.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, kissing my cheek. "Band stuff - didn't wanna wake you."

"That's okay..." I mumbled, closing my eyes. He kissed my lips and then went to take a shower.

Mmm. Shane in the shower. Maybe I do want to get up now.

I opened one eye to try my luck and see if he'd left the door open. He had, but not enough for me to see through. Well, not from my current position, anyway.

Damn.

**9:40 AM**

I decided it was high time to get up now. Almost 10 o'clock for crying out loud! I had a quick shower and got dressed. Well, it would have been a quick shower if it didn't still smell of Shane from this morning. Clean Shane, that is. I revelled in the smell of his shampoo as I let the hot water run over me. My imagination taking me away to a wonderful place.

Oh, my imagination.

We were best friends.

After getting dressed, I left the room and found Tess and Caitlyn, sitting around on the couches, talking.

"Oh hey," I greeted them, walking over to the couches and falling onto an empty one.

"Morning," they chorused, cheery smiles on their faces.

"Nate said we could hang around if we wanted, but I think maybe we'll come back later," Caitlyn said, her tone unsure as to what my reaction would be if they stayed.

"Are you sure?" I said, going over to the phone. "We can order breakfast," Tess and Caitlyn looked at each other, pleased, "...and I guess we can get to know each other more - or talk about the guys, cause, well, it's fun." I smiled.

"Okay, sounds good," Caitlyn said, smiling.

I think we got to know each other pretty well - we hung around for two or three hours. They decided to go back to their parent's house so they could change clothes – the morning-after walk of shame was not a thing on their to-do list. It was a lot of fun making fun of the boys, plus I was really happy to have some female friends that weren't across the high seas.

I think Tess _really_ liked Andy - and I think that they go well together - personality wise. Andy is the diligent, er, smart one and Tess is kind of wildish.

I dunno.

I think they're a good pair.

As for Caitlyn and Nate? Well, I guess they are kind of a good match - Nate is innocent and young, and Caitlyn is bubbly and outgoing. I think they level each other out. But then again, it hasn't even been a whole day - these relationships could end up in the garbage.

**3:18 PM**

My cell phone rang. It was the standard ring - so I didn't know who it was without looking at the screen.

It was Shane.

Yay!

Double yay!

"Hello?" I said, calmly, pretending not to know who was calling.

He can't know that I get excited just to talk to him.

Pfft. I'm not that pathetic.

**3:25 PM**

Shane started explaining to me about how they had a whole mess of band-related things they had to do this week, including a concert on Saturday (which he invited me to). Then I proceeded to tell him how he didn't need to feel sorry or needed to explain because I realize that he'll have to do band stuff cause that's the reason he's in Australia in the first place. Then I think he wanted to tell me he loved me - except he choked on his words or something and ended up saying,

"I love Yugoslavia."

**Saturday, December 4**

**7:00 PM**

I hadn't really seen much of Shane this week. I was asleep when he left in the morning and asleep when he came back at night, except for on Thursday, when he didn't have to leave until noon, so we spent the morning with each other - which was nice.

Tess, Caitlyn, Shaun, Andy, Shane, Nate and I were in the hotel room waiting for Jason to finish getting ready.

God, the boy took longer than any of us girls.

"Come on Jason we're gonna be late for the sound check!" Andy called.

"I'm coming, jeez," Jason said, coming out from the bathroom. "Sorry, I had to extract the sperm for my hair," All the boys laughed, I shook my head in pity. Caitlyn and Tess didn't know what to think judging by the looks on their faces. I quietly explained that it was a joke we had running ever since we were young. The ride to the venue only took about twenty-minutes. The boys threw us some passes and rushed to the sound check, leaving us to find our way.

"I don't want to hang around backstage," I said. "I want to see them play."

"Me too!" Caitlyn agreed. Tess nodded. We found the guys right before the show was going to start and pestered them to get us places in the front to stand. The girls and I decided to have a little fun and blend in with the other girls in the crowd, waiting for the show to start.

There was an official male headcount of 3 (from what I could see anyway).

"CONNECT3, CONNECT3, CONNECT3!" The girls and I chanted along with the rest of the tweens in the crowd. It was a little weird, but oh so funny. Finally the boys took the stage.

"WHOO! YEAH! I LOVE YOU JASON!" I screamed.

"How the fuck are you Sydney!" Jason said.

"KISS ME JASON!" I screamed and then proceeded to crack myself up laughing. I don't think they really heard us though over all the other girls. Oh well - it was funny anyway. The boys started playing started their set with their new single. I swear not one of the girls in this entire room knew less than all the words.

Shane's voice was _so_ sexy I couldn't stand it. I turned my head and glared at some little skank who was yelling to her friend about 'going backstage and going back to the hotel with Shane.' She met my glare and rolled her eyes. I just wanted to deck her.

Keep calm, Torres. Shane is with _you,_ not that pretentious blonde skank.

"JASON I LOVE YOU!" I screamed in between songs. It was hilarious, because I think he heard me, or lip-read what I said, because for a split second, I could swear he was giving me some sort of strange look, his eyebrows creasing.

Right before the last song ended, the girls and I sprinted from the crowd and flashed the backstage guy our passes and he let us through so we'd meet the guys before they went to their autograph signings. About five minutes later, they appeared.

"So how were we?" Nate asked.

"You guys were awesome!" Caitlyn said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, but I swear if I hear one more 12 year old scream, 'I love you Jason!' I think I'll have to shoot myself," Tess said. Caitlyn and I started cracking up.

"I confess," I said, putting my hands up. "That was me screaming every five seconds." Everyone looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"What? I'm serious. I love you Jason." I said, sashaying over to him. "Here, sign my chest?" I pouted at him, pulling the hem of my shirt down – slightly.

The game had begun.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed a pen.

Well played, sir.

"Hey, HEY!" Shane stopped us. "You even look at her chest and I'll passport slap you to hell!" he said, raising his eyebrows. Everyone laughed at Shane's meek threat.

"You're funny, Shane," I said and reached up to kiss him. "Too bad Ryan's not here to film this."

"Oh speaking of Ryan," Andy piped up. "We're going to go camping in the outback next week and he's going to film us. Do you girls want to come?"

"Time to sign autographs," Some big guy with a clipboard came in and interrupted us.

"I think I'm going to go back - I need a shower," I said.

"Okay, I'll see you at the hotel then," Shane smiled, kissing me.

"Don't go running off with another girl now," I clicked my tongue at him.

"Never," he grinned.

"I think we're going to go back to our parent's house," Tess said, eyeing the door.

"Can we pick you up later to go out?" Andy asked, hopefully. The girls nodded and Nate and Andy kissed them before leaving.

**2:30 AM**

After dinner, shots and partying, Shane and I ended up cuddling in bed.

Mitchie – 1. Pretentious Blonde Skank – 0.

"Are you going camping with us?" he asked me. His head was on my chest and I was playing with his hair.

"I don't know. I've never gone camping before."

"Come..." he said, "It'll be boring without you." He started kissing my collar bone and I laughed - weakly. "Please?"

Of course I couldn't say no.

"Only for you..." I said, sighing. He smiled wide and kissed me softly on the lips.

**Monday, December 6**

**2:00 PM**

What did I get myself into? Here we are, all nine of us, in a cramped up van, with _four hours_ still left in this little road trip of ours, with Jason below-par driving. He wasn't used to the 'retarded car' as he so affectionately named it. I'm pretty sure he was referring to the fact that, like all Australian cars, the steering wheel was on the right hand side instead of the left. Also, they drove on the other side of the road.

Ryan turned his camera on, and turned it towards Shane and I. He was sleeping with his head in my lap, sunglasses on.

"Shane's sleeping," Ryan whispered. "Do we have tissue paper?" he whispered to Shaun. Shaun nodded, holding up a box. "Stuff some up his nose!" Everyone started laughing quietly, as not to wake him. I had to control my movement otherwise he'd wake up. Shaun carefully pushed some up Shanes nose and Ryan zoomed in. "He's still asleep," he giggled. Shane started snorting and coughing, gasping for air.

"Hey what the fuck?" he accused, pulling the paper out of his nose. He sat up and looked into the camera. "You better be afraid to go to sleep tonight, fucker," He told Ryan, menacingly. "Don't be surprised if you find a horse head in your tent when you wake up tomorrow..." he warned. Everyone was laughing by this point – even Jason, who's driving now resembled a drunk thirteen-year old behind the wheel.

An hour later, we were all standing out on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere, Australia.

"Jason drove the van into some bush. So now he and Andy are trying to fix two blown tires," Ryan commentated, zooming in on the wheels. "Over here, however," Ryan continued, turning the camera towards Shane, Nate, Tess, Caitlyn, Shaun and I. "The gang is having a fiesta, if you will - with the wonderful music of Shane Gray accompanying."

"You may look at me and think that I'm just a young girl, but I'm not just a young girl, baby, this is what I'm lookin' for. A sexy independent down to spend it type I'm ready to go. Oh my goodies, my goodies, my goodies not my goodies..." he sang. The rest of us were rolling in the dust, laughing.

"Jason is a dumbass - and I have - to – piss," Shaun sang.

"There's a fuckin tree right over there, why don't you go piss on it?" Nate said. Shaun looked over and ran as fast as he could to it, unbuckling his belt in the process. He ended up tripping over his pants and fell down onto the dusty ground, rolling over a bunch of times. Everyone started cracking up again. Shane laughed so hard, he fell on the ground to join the rest of us. I swear we had enough tears in our eyes to help the Aussie's get over the drought.

"_Please_ tell me you got that on tape, Ryan," he said, trying to contain his laughter. Ryan turned the camera towards Shaun who was now giving everyone the finger. Ryan gave us a thumbs up.

Excellent.

**2:55 PM**

"Let's have a chicken fight," Nate said, getting Caitlyn up on his shoulders. "Losers have to build the tents for the winners."

"Okay," Shane said, lifting me up.

I'm glad he asked for my consent first.

Not.

"Okay," Ryan said as we got into position. "Ready - set - go!" Caitlyn and I locked arms and began pushing each other.

"I feel like I'm in that Michael Jackson video," Nate laughed.

"Oh yeah, 'Beat It'!" Caitlyn said, getting distracted. I took that opportunity to go full force; I pushed her off, causing Nate to stumble and they landed on top of each other.

Oops. Hope they're not hurt.

"Champions! Champions!" Shane chanted, laughing. He decided to do a victory lap around the broken down van.

I think he forgot he was carrying a person.

He finally slowed down and let me off, just to pick me up and spin me around.

"Too bad I was crossing my fingers!" Nate said, sticking his tongue out like a ten year old. Shane grinned evilly and started chasing him.

Oh boys.

**4:00 PM**

"On the road again..." Ryan sang, with the camera on. He turned the camera towards Shane, who was pressing a tissue paper to his lip.

"Back there - I was chasing Nate, and suddenly he stopped in his tracks and I smashed into his back. Because he's so fat, he didn't actually move so instead I kind of landed on the ground. Now my lip is bleeding," Shane explained into the camera as Nate laughed hysterically in the background.

Ryan laughed too and turned off the camera. "I'm going to run out of film before we even get there," he said, setting it in its case.

"Lemme see it," I turned to Shane. He removed his hand from his mouth and revealed a pretty messed up lip. "Ouch. Does it hurt still?"

"A little. Do you want to make it better?" he winked at me.

"Hey now!" Nate interjected. "Not when I'm around, s'il vous plaît, arrêtez."

**Sue me. I like camping trips. :)  
Well, I just got back from one the other week, so it's kinda on my brain.**

**If you need help translating the French, message or review :)**

Review please, darlings!

Love, Bree  
xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Important note, my lovelies. In a couple of chapters time I'll need some names. Nothing too spectacular, just some friends of Shane's. So you should nominate yourself. :) I'll be choosing 5 names.  
Review and tell me why I should choose you :D**

**Monday, December 6**

**6:30 PM**

"Heeeeere weeee aaaare..." Jason drawled, stretching out every word as we drove through a clump of trees and bushes. Everyone's jaw dropped once we saw what was behind it.

The area was absolutely breathtaking. There was a large patch of very grassy area where we could set up tents. The grass hit a sandy, dusty patch of land that slowly dipped into a lake which was about 150 feet wide. The best thing about it, though, was the waterfall in the exact centre of it. It was spectacular.

Once we all stepped out, we walked around in awe before setting up tents and unpacking.

"Do you want to go swimming?" Shane asked me, taking my hand.

"Right now?" I asked him, as we walked closer to the river.

"Yeah, before it gets cold tonight," he reasoned.

"Okay," I smiled. I lifted my shirt off and revealed my bright red bra and pulled my shorts off to reveal matching panties. The set cost me over $100 from Victorias Secret - and I was about to ruin it.

I think Shane liked what he saw; he was staring.

Ruining the set it is, then.

"Red, nice," he nodded towards me. I rolled my eyes and went over to the water. I dipped my foot in - it wasn't freezing like I'd expect it to be, but it wasn't exactly warm. Shane came over to me - he had taken his shirt and pants off and was now just wearing leopard print boxers.

So hot.

"Come on, let's jump off that rock," he said, pointing to a huge stone that towered over the river by a good seven or eight feet.

"I'll go first -" He offered, obviously sensing my uncertainty.

I followed him over it and watched him climb up. "One - two - THREE!" He yelled and jumped off. He made a loud splash and disappeared under the black water for a few seconds, but emerged up with a huge smile, his teeth glinting off the last of the suns rays. "Come on, you gotta try it, Mitchie!" I sighed, climbing onto the rock.

"Okay. One," I said, looking down at the water.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"... Two..."

Nope. Definitely not a good idea.

"Come on, its fun!" he said, brushing his hair back.

Damn. How can I say no?

"Three?" I said with a shaky voice. The next thing I knew I was submerged under water. I felt so light, and the water against my skin felt so good. When I finally emerged from the depths, Shane swam over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You're very sexy when you're wet," he whispered so that only I could hear it - but still, he said it so powerfully that it made my whole body tingle.

"Let's go under the waterfall..." I said, grabbing his hand. He smiled, letting me lead him to it. Once we got there we wasted zero time. I wrapped my legs around him and he did the same with his arms to me. He began kissing my shoulder and moved down to my collar bone and over to my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair and pushed his head towards my neck. His kisses were so soft and tender, I never wanted them to end. He slowly made his way back up my neck and to my lips. I didn't even care that his bottom lip was messed up. He slowly explored my mouth with his tongue and massaged mine.

"I have to tell you something," he said, breaking the kisses.

"Yeah?" I said, loosening my legs. I set them down freely and looked up at Shane, whose arms were still secure around my waist.

"Mitchie I-" This was it. He was going to tell me he loved me! I just knew it! "I- I lo-"

"HEY, LOVEBIRDS! COME AND GIVE US A HAND!" Shaun yelled across the river.

DAMN HIM TO HELL!

TO ABSOLUTE FUCKING HELL!

DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!

"Fuck..." Shane mumbled and began swimming back to shore. I followed.

**8:00 PM**

True to the bet from before, Nate ended up making the tents. But he only made one tent for us because he was stubborn, not realizing that induced more sexually activity between Shane and I by making us share the same small little tent.

Big mistake, cousin, dear.

We had already eaten dinner - badly cooked meat. I think most of us were looking forward to s'mores after Shaun's first and last attempt at cooking over an open fire. Who left him in charge of the food anyway? The man can barely feed himself, let alone 8 other people.

"Eww! Red Bull with roasted marshmallows?" I wrinkled my nose at Shane, who had just popped open a can.

"Yeah, here try some," he offered, sticking the can under my nose.

"No thanks," I said, tilting my head away.

"Hey Shane," Ryan said from across the fire with his camera on. "Why don't you pour some on her head so she can see what she's missing? Or for the sake of the DVD - come on."

"You do and you die," I said simply, roasting my marshmallow away, not even looking at him.

"Do it - do it - do it-" Jason, Nate and Andy chanted. Tess and Caitlyn just spectated, waiting to see what would happen next.

"You'll love it, I promise," Shane said, lifting his arm up.

"You'll regret it..." I warned, biting off a piece of my marshmallow.

"Once small step for man," he said, lifting the can over my head. "...one giant leap for mankind!" he finished and poured a few ounces onto my head. Instantly I whacked the can out of his hand and didn't even watch it roll away, spilling out its contents. I pinned him down to the ground quite easily.

"You. You're sleeping out here tonight, baby," and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt, man..." Ryan laughed.

"Whipped!" came Nate's voice.

**11:25 PM**

I sat in my tent, brushing my hair, with a cheeky smile. I wasn't going to let Shane REALLY spend the whole night out there - I just wanted to see how long he would last. Hey, maybe he would last the whole night and I wouldn't have to swallow any pride. I could hear Shane outside talking to Ryan and his camera.

"Mitchie is a little mad at me right now, because I poured Red Bull on her, so now she won't let me in the tent - which kinda sucks because it's getting cold and all my stuff is in there."

"Well, sucks to be you!" Ryan shrugged. "Well, I'm tired so I'm goin' to bed. In my tent," Ryan said, laughing away.

"Fuck you!" Shane called after him. A few minutes later, Shane started talking to me.

"Mitchie?"

Oh god his VOICE is so goddamn sexy!

Don't cave, Torres!

"Yeah?" I replied nonchalantly.

"Will you please forgive me?"

"I forgive you but you still can't come in..." I teased.

This is way more fun than I expected.

"But I miss you..." he said.

I MISS YOU TOO!

Shut up, head.

"... and I lu-" I think he was about to say it for absolute real this time

Oh my god.

"And I- I love you." I think my heart stopped beating. I had no clue it would feel like this. Slowly I stood up and came out of the tent to face him.

"Really?" I questioned. I had to make sure my head wasn't just making things up.

"Yeah - I love you." He took my hands in his. I didn't care that it was like 50 degrees out and I was in my pyjamas. "I've been trying to tell you all week - but I-"

"I love you too," I smiled at him.

"Awwwwww!"

At the same time, we both turned to one side - Andy, Tess, Nate, Caitlyn, Jason, Shaun and Ryan (with his camera) were all peeking from their tents, watching the whole thing.

"Hey, fuck you all," I said and put one middle finger for all of them. I grabbed Shane and pulled him in the tent.

**11:55 PM**

"Did you mean it? Or did you say just so I'd let you in?" I asked, once we were inside.

"Of course I meant it!" he said. "Did you?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling.

"What the fuck is that?" he said, pointing to my sleeping bag.

"My sleeping bag...?"

"Are you kidding? You'll be a popsicle in the morning if you sleep in that," he said, going over to one of his bags. I had to laugh - just the way he said it, it was just so funny.

"I brought my bed cover," He said pulling out a huge zebra print comforter.

"Jesus, you're obsessed." I said. Everything he owned seemed to be animal print.

"...obsessed with you!" he said, and then laughed.

I think I just stood there, shaking my head.

"Only you can pull of crap jokes like that," I said, watching him spread out his cover.

"Yeah - cause I'm cool like that," he said, grinning. I looked down at myself; I was wearing a huge sweater and sweatpants – not exactly the sexiest thing ever. I looked over to Shane who was sporting a t-shirt and jeans.

Ha, because I wouldn't let him in the tent when it started to get chilly.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked, making my way over to him.

"You wanna warm me up?" he winked at me, closing the distance between us. He wrapped his arms around my arms and rested his head on my collarbone, closing his eyes. His touch made me shiver – and not because he was cold.

"This sucks," I said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Sorry..." he said, quickly letting go of me.

"What? No -" I said, laughing. "I meant it's freezing so I can't not sleep in these clothes. But, I can't sleep with all these fucking layers on either," I complained in a whiny voice.

"You can take them off - I'll keep you warm under the covers, okay?" I don't think he was actually implying sex this time like he had all the other times, which was kind of nice.

"Okay," I smiled, lifting my sweater off. Then I took my long sleeved shirt off, and then my camisole.

Yes, that many layers really were necessary.

All I was left with was a white cotton bra. Then I stepped out of my sweatpants, and then out of my pyjama pants, but left my mesh shorts on.

Shane was watching me.

"Aren't you gonna take those off?" he said, referring to my shorts.

"No..." I said, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged and then grabbed the hem of his shirt, tugging it over the top of his head. He chucked it lightly to the ground.

Oh my god.

Breathe, Mitchie, breathe.

He fiddled with the buckle on his jeans before sliding them down his legs and stepping out of them.

Oh my god. I hope he doesn't know I'm watching. Like a freaking hawk.

"Well aren't you going to kiss me?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow, "What kind of knight in shining armour are you?" He smiled and made his way over to me. He lifted me up and pressed my body to his. Now that our heads were the same height, he leaned forward and attacked my lips with his. He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.

"How's that?" he said, setting me down, but not letting me go.

"Ehh..." I hedged, "Better try again..." His lips curled at the ends and he brought his lips down to mine for the second time. This time, running his tongue along my bottom lip, practically begging entrance. I decided to play nice and parted my lips. He explored my mouth a bit with his tongue and then pulled out, softly pressing his lips against mine, and then pulling away. "That's more like it," I grinned, and pecked him on the lips.

He crawled under the cover and I followed him. He was lying on his back and so obviously, the best option for me would be to lay on top of him face down, with my head resting on his collarbone.

Right?

Right.

He pulled the cover over us and wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked. I could feel the vibration from his throat every time he talked.

"Yeah - are you?"

"Yes, very," he said, smiling.

I think it's because my breasts were pressed up against him.

Nevertheless...

"Hey Shane?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought about-" I hesitated, trying to figure out exactly how to say it. "Um …us, 'doing' it?" I said, for lack of a better term.

"Well yeah - I mean, haven't you?"

"...I don't know. I mean, you want to right?"

"Only when you want to," he said, nuzzling his face in the top of my head.

"Okay," I smiled, closing my eyes. "I love you Shane."

"I love you too." he whispered. And that was the end of our conversation for the night.

**Tuesday, December 7**

**9:00 AM**

The smell of burnt wood and the sounds of crackling awoke me this morning. I slowly opened my eyes and found that Shane and I were now in the spooning position; as opposed to the way we went to sleep last night.

Kind of strange how people move around when they're asleep.

I very slowly, very carefully turned over and saw that Shane was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful and adorable, it was just too cute. I slowly lifted his arm off me and slithered out from under the cover, setting his arm down gently. He stirred a bit but remained asleep. I reached for one of my shirts and slipped it on, as well as some flip flops. I quietly exited the tent and ran towards Ryan, Tess and Andy who were sitting around a fire they'd built; 'cooking' some defrosted frozen steaks.

"Good morning," Andy said, as I approached and sat down next to him. "Sleep well?"

"Mmm, yeah," I yawned, stretching my arms. "It was cold for summer though," I commented, watching the fire.

"In the woods with all the shade, I guess it can get pretty cold," Tess said. I shrugged, yawning again.

"I kind of want to, um, wash myself, but I'm afraid the river is going to be freezing," I shuddered.

"Wait 'till noon, the sun will warm it up a bit," Ryan said.

"Good point..."

"Are you hungry?" Andy asked me, "Ryan will make you some steak."

"Haha, eating like royalty."

"You know it," Ryan winked.

"Bonjour, mes amours!" Nate called out to us happily, walking towards us.

"Somebody's in a good mood," Tess said.

"You know what that means," Ryan grinned mischievously, "he got laid." Andy and I snickered.

Nate wasn't denying it.

"You're just jealous," he said, sticking his tongue out. A sudden screaming interrupted our playful morning banter.

"Don't worry, that's just Shane," Andy explained to Tess, who had a horrified look on her face. "He screams in his sleep sometimes."

"I'll go wake him," I said, standing up. I ran back to our tent and went in.

"Rose! Don't go!" he screamed, thrashing in the bed covers.

!!

Who the fuck is Rose?

"NO!"

"Shane, baby, wake up," I said, kneeling down to him. I shook him lightly.

"Why, Rose? Why?" he cried. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Shane, wake up," I softly brushed my hand along his cheek bone. "Come on sweetie, wake up." He moaned a bit.

"Rose?"

"Shane, it's me, Mitchie," I said.

"Where's Rose?"

"Who's Rose?"

"What?"

"You asked me where Rose was, who's Rose?"

"I did?"

"I guess you were asleep still..."

"Oh... well I'm awake now," he said, sitting up.

"So who's Rose?"

"Is everything okay?" we heard from outside. Caitlyn peeked her head in. "I heard screaming."

"Yeah - everything's fine," I nodded.

"Okay," she said, and walked away.

"Did you sleep well?" Shane asked me before I could ask him who Rose was again.

"Yeah, fine..." I said trailed off.

"Mitchie, your steak is ready!" Ryan called.

"I'll see you out there," I said, getting up.

"Wait!" Shane yelped. I turned around. He looked so adorable - yet so incredibly hot at the same time with his bare chest. He stood up and came over to me. He pressed his warm lips against mine and then pulled away. I blushed madly and walked out, not being able to meet his eyes.

**Tuesday, December 7**

**1:00 PM**

I spent a few hours after breakfast with Shane - we hung around mostly, swimming, making out, more swimming etc... But it seemed as though every time I even tried to ask about Rose he either pretended not to hear me or changed the subject. It was really bothering me - I mean, if it was something I shouldn't be worried about, than why wouldn't he tell me? He didn't even say something like, 'I have no idea what you are talking about,' or 'I don't know any Roses'. I decided to get to the bottom of this.

Right now, Shane was playing jokes on Jason and Andy with Ryan, so I decided to talk to Shaun - he'd probably be honest with me - or I'd hope so anyway. I walked up to him - he was reading a book outside his tent.

"Hey Shaun?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I talk to you?"

"Sure, what's up?" he asked, setting his book down.

"Um, could we possibly talk about this inside the tent? I don't really want anyone else to hear us,"

"Okay..." he said, getting up. I followed him in and sat down next to him. "What's bothering you, love?"

"Who's Rose?"

"Who?"

"Shaun, please be honest with me, I know there was a Rose. Shane kept screaming her name out while he was sleeping - and he won't talk to me about it. What, was she like a girlfriend?" Shaun was quiet for a minute or so.

"Are you sure you want to know?" I wasn't expecting exactly that, but nevertheless.

"Yeah. I want to know why my boyfriend is dreaming about other girls and not telling me why."

"Trust me it's not at all that simple-" Shaun said. He sighed. "About five or six years ago - right before Shane joined the band, he used to know this girl, Rose. They had been friends for... life, I think. Like absolute best friends -- they loved each other."

Great, that was something I wanted to hear.

"But they weren't IN love with each other," he quickly backtracked, after seeing the expression I made. "There's a difference, you know, he loved her like a sister."

"Okay..."

"So this girl Rose - her life was pretty messed up right around that time, I mean it was tragic, really tragic. Her boyfriend was just admitted into a mental hospital - he had tried to kill himself. She didn't know why, she didn't even know anything was wrong. Not only that though, her newborn cousin, just two weeks old, had been diagnosed a tumour in her brain, if you can imagine how horrible that must have been for her. She had also been dealing with her parents divorce - her father apparently had an affair with a younger woman, all the while beating Rose and her mother. The poor girl, her whole life was falling apart right in front of her," Shaun said, and took a deep breath.

I think I had tears welling up in my eyes - just out of sympathy for this Rose - and just five minutes ago I wanted her head!

"So what happened?" I said, almost afraid to find out.

"Shane was one of her only friends who were really there for her, like really there - and he was close to her family so he was dealing with some of it in himself as well. He skipped work, school, everything just to take care of her - she was in constant need of care. We met him just weeks before it happened."

"What was, 'it'?" I asked, horrified to know the answer. Some tears already escaped my eyes.

"Well apparently after band practice one day, Shane swung by her house and she was gone. She left a note telling him not to worry, and that she was just going to the store to get some milk. So he waited. Half an hour. Then an hour. Two. Three. He was already considering the worst at this point. He went out to look for her and didn't find anything. He knew that he needed to get the police involved at this stage," Shaun looked down, and then back up at me. "They found her body at the bottom of a lake, two days later. The autopsy said she drowned herself."

How was I supposed to react? Poor Shane - the pain, the angst he must have gone through. And here I was, being such a baby about it! I wanted to kick myself.

"That's not it -" Shaun trailed off.

That's not it?

THAT'S NOT IT?

What more could have happened?

"I mean obviously Shane went into a really deep state of depression - the four of us were all there for him - we kind of took care of him, made sure he didn't try anything stupid. Well slowly he began to get over it - I mean, he will never really be over it - just you know, over the depression," I nodded fervently, wiping a few tears away. "This next part might...well, I don't actually know how you'll take this next part," he trailed off again. I was silent, waiting for him to continue. "There is a striking, absolutely striking resemblance between you and Rose."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What?

I think I was more horrified than anything at that point.

"So that's why Shane likes me?" I said. "He doesn't even like me, he likes Rose!"

"Hey, wait no," Shaun said, looking horrified. "That's not it, I mean, yeah you look like her, but that's it. Shane definitely loves _you_, he's _in love_ with _you_."

Yeah right - and the Rose thing has nothing to do with that. Bullshit.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Shane said, coming in the tent with Ryan and his camera. I glanced at him briefly before pushing past him and running out. Shaun quickly followed, with Shane behind him and Ryan behind Shane.

"Mitchie, come back, you have to talk about this!" Shaun hollered.

"Talk about what?" Shane called. "Mitchie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Mitchie!" Shaun said, catching up with me. "Mitchie you can't run from this!"

Watch me.

He did watch me. He watched me run, trip and fall.

"Mitchie," Shaun said, kneeling down beside me. I think I just broke down completely right on the ground.

"What the hell is going on?" Shane said, visibly pissed.

"Ryan, turn the fucking camera off!" Shaun glared, "...and leave too!"

"I told her about Rose," Shaun said. Shane's face went as white as a sheet.

"Why the fuck are you telling my personal business?" Shane yelled.

"Because I asked him to!" I screamed at him. "Because you wouldn't!" Shane stepped back. "I wish you would've told me that I look like her! Now at least I know why you like me so much!"

"Exactly!" Shaun said. "He likes YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, Mitchie, YOU!"

"No, he likes Rose," I said coldly.

"ONE MORE TIME, Mitchie, he was NEVER IN LOVE WITH HER! Does he TREAT you like his sister? NO! He's IN LOVE with YOU with MITCHIE! YOU!" Shaun exclaimed, his eyes darting about wildly.

"Yeah? Then he'd be saying it himself," I glared. Shaun took a step back, and looked at Shane. Shane turned on his heel and ran away.

"Shit..." Shaun mumbled, covering his face with his hands.

**2:00 PM**

"Fan-fucking-tastic," I mumbled, getting up from the ground. "What am I supposed to DO Shaun? He doesn't love me!"

"Oh my GOD, Mitchie, you are SO STUPID! He loves you more than he loves -- uh... FOOD! He loves you more than food! Do you understand how big this is?"

"Then why did he run away?" I asked, harshly.

"I don't know! But you've gotta believe me, I swear all last week all day long all we heard was 'Mitchie this' and 'Mitchie that' and 'She's so fucking hot' - and then Nate would occasionally punch him. And then there was 'Guys I have to tell her I love her tonight' and 'She did the funniest thing today' and 'She's so great I'm so lucky' - frankly, I'm SICK of hearing your name!"

"Really?"

"Yes, I swear I'll shoot myself if he says it one more time."

"No, I mean, did he really talk about me like that?" Shaun walked over to me.

"Yes. He loves you."

"Then why is the Rose thing such a big deal to him? Why wouldn't he tell me? Why did he get so mad when I found out that I look like her unless that's the only reason he likes me?" Shaun sighed heavily and rolled his eyes at me.

Prick.

"Quick - first time you saw Shane, why did you start liking him?"

"Uh...he was wearing those rectangle glasses," I remembered, grinning. "...he was so sexy with them on..."

"Why do you like him now?"

"Shaun, what does this-"

"Just answer the question!"

"Okay! Okay… um… well, he makes me laugh - even when he's not trying to. He doesn't pressure me to do anything. He makes me nervous - I get chills every time he kisses me. He respects me. He senses whenever I get a little depressed, and he always tries to make me smile. He's spontaneous - It's never boring when I'm with him." I was pretty much crying by that time.

"Do you see? You were attracted to him because of the way he looked - sound familiar? But now you love him because of who he is - don't you think he feels the same?" I shrugged. As much as I hated to admit it; Shaun had a point.

Damn Shaun.

Damn Shaun and his stupid logic.

"Shaun, I appreciate what you're trying to do - but nothing means anything unless he says it himself."

**3:30 PM**

I was sitting on the grass by the river, absentmindedly chucking pebbles into the water. I hadn't spoken to anyone. I think everyone kind of sensed something was wrong and they probably figured I needed to be alone. I couldn't decide whether I actually wanted company or not.

"Have you spoken to Shane?" Shaun asked gently, coming up behind me.

"Do you see him?" I replied sarcastically, chucking a pebble.

"Do you want to?"

"If he wants to talk to me then he'll come. There is nothing I need to say to him that he doesn't already know."

"I think he thinks you're mad at him."

"Should I be?"

He paused. "Well he did kind of run away when he was supposed to tell you he loved you - and he didn't exactly deny the fact that he liked you because you looked like someone else; and he-"

"I get the point," I said, cutting him off. I didn't exactly need to be reminded why I was supposed to hate my boyfriend. "But I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"No. You were right Shaun, I started liking him because of the way he looked - why should he be the bad person for doing the same thing?"

"So you believe that he loves you?"

"Isn't it funny," I began, "How I'm having this conversation with you?" I said, turning my head around. To my utter surprise - Shaun wasn't alone. Shane was right next to him. As if on cue, Shaun made himself disappear. I quickly turned my head back to the river and threw the smooth pebble I'd been playing with for the past couple of minutes.

I looked to the sky, it slowly darkening even though it was only just after midday. Some clouds had blocked the sun, sending shivers down my spine from the absence of light. Neither Shane nor I said anything for a minute or two. I was starting to wonder if he was still there.

"You could have told me," I accused, not turning around.

"I was waiting for the right time," he spoke.

"Right after you'd fucked me, right?"

"You know I'm not like that," he said sadly. I could feel him standing directly behind me now.

"I know," I mumbled. A tear or two trickled down my cheek.

"Well now that you know about her, is there anything you still want to know?"

"What was she like?" I said, wiping my cheek with my arm. He came and sat down next to me, hugging his legs.

The next hour or so, we just sat there like that. We didn't even touch each other. It was weird to still feel so close without contact. He was telling me all about her - I could tell it was hard for him, but he never choked.

"I'm sorry you went through that," I whispered. Shane just shrugged, destroying a blade of grass between his fingers.

"Are we okay?" he asked, looking at me.

I didn't answer. I inched closer to him, taking his hand in mine. I wrapped his arm around my waist and put my head on his shoulder.

"We'll always be okay…" I replied, my voice trailing.

"Good," he said, kissing my head. "Because I'll always love you." and with that, he rested his head on mine. That made me smile wide. My whole body seemed to react whenever he touched me – like I was made of Jello or something. Sitting there peacefully we heard a faint crash of thunder. We looked up at the greying sky as the first few raindrops hit our faces.

"Come on, let's go back," I said, slowly standing up. Holding hands, we walked back to the tent area at our own pace.

**4:00 PM**

"It's official," Tess said, closing her cell phone. "There's a storm coming and we're in its path."

"Will it hit Sydney?" Andy asked.

"I doubt it - it's not going in that direction."

"So what do you guys want to do?" Caitlyn said.

"I say we go back," Ryan piped up.

"No one cares what you say," Shaun glared at Ryan while the rest of us laughed. Shaun couldn't hold the glare and both him and Ryan joined us laughing.

"I don't think that's such a bad idea," Nate added, "What if the river overflows?"

"Thank you, Professor Nathan." Ryan patted him on the head condescendingly.

"I think he's right," Jason said, already starting to pack up some camping gear. His own of course.

"We can go back, but Jason's not driving," Shane stated. The rest of us grinned.

**Remember, if you want to have your name in the story, just leave a review and tell me why!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'll update BYAI soon; I'm just finding it hard to find inspiration at the moment; A bit of writers block for that story. I know where I want to go with it; I just don't know how yet. Bear with me :)**

**Also, I have photos of Andy and Shaun up on my profile, if you want to know what they look like!**

**December 7**

**7:00 PM**

We hit the road about an hour and a half ago. Shaun ended up driving. Everyone trusts Shaun. Jason and Shane were playing blood knuckles while Ryan filmed and the rest of us sat there making bets on who would wimp out first. Before I could place bet for round 11; my cell phone rang. It was HelloGoodbye.

That meant it was the A-Hole.

Fuck.

"Hello?"

"Mitchie? Where the hell were you? I waited for two hours!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember? The Creperie?"

"Oh yeah," I grinned, on the verge of laughter. "I guess I forgot. Huh. Imagine that."

"I kept calling you… I even swung by your house - where are you?"

"Where am I? Where… am... I..." I drawled, as if I was thinking about it.

"You're in Australia!" Andy yelled into the phone.

"That's right, Sydney!" Jason said happily as he rapped Shane over the knuckles. I had to laugh at that.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm... around," I hedged.

"Well I've been thinking," he said, "Maybe we could still go backpacking across Europe. It wouldn't be so bad?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that..."

He had the NERVE to ask me to do that with him! After all he put me through? Ha!

What a fucking moron.

"So what do you think?"

"Josh, I wouldn't go backpacking across the STREET with you," I spat at him before hanging up.

"Who's Josh?" Andy asked curiously.

"Her ex-boyfriend," Nate explained. "You never told me you were going backpacking with him." His eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, well, it's not important anymore I guess," I shrugged. "But hey, now I have all this extra money saved up, I can buy everyone totally awesome Christmas presents!"

"Don't you think you should save your money? Maybe to move out of your parent's house?" Nate asked, the fatherly slash brotherly slash annoying overbearing cousin tone setting in.

Here we go again.

"Nathan - just because I don't have a job, and I don't go to college, and I have a little money to my name doesn't mean I should use it wisely," I said, sarcastically.

"I mean, you know you can always come stay with me if you wanted, I-" Nate began.

"I know, man. I'm not stupid - I am moving out of my parents'. I have to wait for the right time - and right now is just not it." I said. "I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my life first."

**10:00 PM**

"Finally, I'm STARVING!" Andy exclaimed as we pulled up to the hotel.

"Well you wouldn't be if the speed demon to your left would have stopped once in a while," Jason smirked, talking about Shaun.

"Hey! I got us here, didn't I?" Shaun said. "In one piece, I might add. AND without the van breaking down once," he added as an afterthought while poking his tongue out at Jason.

"Do you feel like food?" Shane asked me. I nodded. "Do you want to go out… just us?"

"Yeah," I smiled at him, "That would be nice."

We got up to the hotel room and I decided to take a shower. This time, I wasn't alone. I walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower to let the steam fill up the room. Shane walked in behind me and grabbed me around the waist, placing a kiss below my ear. I giggled and turned around in his arms, grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head. After I threw it to the floor, I undid the buckle on his jeans, as he helped me discard my own shirt.

After slowly removing each others clothes, we stepped into the shower. It was nice, just to be close to him without having to be physical.

I stood facing him as I picked up the soap and ran it gently over his chest. The soap glided across his abs leaving a trail of bubbles. He stood there watching me giggle as I drew a face in the bubbles. Shane grinned and turned us around so he was standing behind me. He squirted some shampoo into his hand and gently massaged it into my scalp.

Oh my god.

He is so good with his fingers.

Just wait until – MITCHIE!

Calm down.

He chuckled as I sighed into his touch, relaxing under the heat of the shower, his fingers still gently massaging.

**Sunday, December 12**

**7:00 PM**

This past week, since we were supposed to be camping, the guys didn't have any band stuff to do. Shane and had I spent practically all our time together - but starting tomorrow, they'd have another week of band stuff before the holidays.

That was going to suck.

We were lying on the couch in the main room, watching the television. Shane was lying on his back with one arm behind his head and his other around me; while I was on my side, resting my head on his shoulder.

"You know what I've been thinking about?" I said, idly drawing patterns on his bare chest.

"What?"

"What Nate said about me and my money."

"You're using it to move?"

"I think I should. I've also been thinking about going to university."

"Really? What do you want to study?"

"Hotel Management. There's an internship at Le Chateau Frontenac in the spring. I'm thinking of applying."

_A/N: for anyone who doesn't know, Le Chateau Frontenac is a really famous, gorgeous hotel in Montreal_.

"Wow, Mitchie, that's really awesome." He grinned. "Um, I was also thinking…" Shane trailed off, playing with my hair.

"About what?"

"About us, I was kind of wondering, I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, I was just thinking it might be a good idea and I know that I probably won't be home until like May or something but,"

"Is there a point here?" I drummed my fingers lightly across his chest, giggling.

"Uhh, yeah. Well what I'm trying to say is, well, uh, do you think maybe you want to move in with me?"

"Do you even live anywhere?"

Wow. How stupid do I sound right now?

Obviously he lives somewhere, right? I mean, just because he tours and then spends all day in a recording studio doesn't mean he doesn't live somewhere I guess.

"Do I live anywhere?" he repeated, quite confused. "I have an apartment you know."

"Oh. Well I thought because you're always doing band stuff, well you know."

"You're an idiot, sweetpea."

I ignored his dig. "Are you serious though? You want me to move in with you?"

"Well yeah... I mean, do you want to?" he asked, now nervous.

"Of course I want to - I just don't know if I can."

"Well why not?"

"Shane, you're so sweet I love you," I said, smiling. It felt so good to say that. "But I can't just let you do that for me."

"Why not? I want to. I love you and I want to take care of you."

"Are you absolutely, positively, 150% sure?"

"Yeah."

"For real?"

"For real."

"Indefinitely?"

"Oh god, just say yes!" came Jason's voice from the other side of the door. I looked at Shane, his big brown eyes were shining with hope. And love.

Now how, I ask you, HOW can I say no?

"Okay, yes," I finally caved. Shane smiled and brought his lips down to the top of my head.

Is this what is called taking a relationship 'to the next level'?

"When do you want to move?" Shane asked me.

"I don't know. I was planning on going home after New Years anyway, but I guess I'll stick around my parents place until you're done your touring."

"Well in February we're only doing local stuff. Do you want to then?"

I smiled and lifted my head to reach his lips with mine.

**Tuesday, December 14**

**3:15 AM**

I think I was half asleep - or half awake, whichever way you look at it, when the door opened and Shane walked in the suite, followed by Jason. I was lying on the couch, with a book open on my chest, I guess I'd fallen asleep earlier. I could hear everything going on, but I was too tired to open my eyes all the way or to say anything.

"Shane," Jason whispered. I'm guessing he was gesturing to me because the next thing I knew, Shane had walked over and knelt down beside me.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

"Shane..." I mumbled weakly. He took the book from my chest and closed it on the coffee table. He slipped one of his arms under my legs and the other around my shoulders lifting me up bridal style.

Ooh, I could definitely get used to this.

He made his way to the bedroom and slowly set me down onto the bed. I could hear him rummaging around in the closet before coming back over to the bed and sitting me up. He helped me pull my shirt and jeans off as he replaced them with my pyjamas.

How sweet.

He lay me back down and pulled the covers over me, kissing my lips gently. He then disappeared into the bathroom for about ten minutes and then reappeared wearing nothing but his boxers.

Drool.

I'm too tired to drool.

"Shane?" I whispered as he climbed in.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." I could hear the smile in his voice as he rested his arm around me protectively. I pulled my head onto his chest and drifted off.

**Wednesday, December 15**

**11:20 AM**

I woke up from a dreamless sleep as sun rays broke through the thick curtains of our room. I opened my eyes slowly. Shocked at what I saw, I quickly closed them again before blinking a few times. I opened them again and was met with the same sight.

"Why are there flowers all over the whole room?" I wondered out loud.

I was, of course, the only actual person in the room.

There were hundreds of roses spread out around the entire room. Everywhere; on the floor, on the bed, on the counters, around the window; EVERYWHERE. I looked over to the nightstand to see what time it was, when a little white card caught my eye.

_Happy 19th Birthday, my love!_

_Be ready at 7._

_Love, Shane_

_PS: Hope you like the roses - man, do you know how hard it is to carry 19 dozen roses?_

Oh right. I _totally_ forgot about my own birthday because of the whole moving thing!

Aww! He's so sweet!

Wait a minute, what does he mean, 'Be ready at 7'?

Be ready for what?

And what am I supposed to be wearing?

Pfft. Men.

**11:30 AM**

After reading and re-reading the card, I set it down on my now vacated pillow and climbed out of bed. Careful, as not to step on any flowers, I made my way over to the bathroom to take a shower. On the closed toilet seat was a really prettily wrapped pink box, with another white card on it. I took the card and read it:

_Very Sexy perfume for a very sexy lady._

_Love,_

_Shane_

I raised my eyebrow. Very sexy perfume? I set the card down and unwrapped the box. Surely enough, the perfume was called, 'Very Sexy' by Victoria's Secret.

Oh Shane, you're so funny.

And sweet.

Sigh.

After my shower, I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel and went over to the closet. I slid the door open and laying there, was a big white box, also wrapped, also accompanied by a little white card. I knelt down carefully and picked up the card:

_This is for tonight (I hope)._

_Did you know it took me an hour to get your measurements without waking you? Did you know that you are 36-24-36 exactly? _

_Love,_

_Shane_

_PS: Don't tell Nate_.

I picked up the box and set it down on the bed. I opened it, and somehow, I wasn't surprised. In it was a delicate lacy black lingerie set.

Oh, Shane you horny son of a....

Not really.

After getting dressed in my favourite pair of denim shorts and a tank top, I was about to go back into the bathroom to put makeup on, but I was distracted when I heard a meek whimpering coming from the main room. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here except for me. Maybe Caitlyn or Tess stopped by? But why would they be whimpering?

Straining my ears, I went out into the main room only to be even more surprised. Right there, in the middle of the room was a playpen with a puppy inside.

!!!

There was a big red bow tied around its neck and another white card slipped under the bow. I unhooked the latch on the gate and the puppy bounded out. He was a pure white Maltese. The tiniest little thing I've ever seen.

"Hi there, baby!" I cooed, as it began sniffing me. Then it started to lick my face and hands. I fished the card out from under the bow and read it.

_So you won't be lonely when I'm away on band stuff. _

_Love,_

_Shane_

_PS: He still needs a name…_

Aww! I wished Shane was here so I could just hug him.

He's such a sweetie - I had no idea he was like that.

"What do you want to be called, huh?" I smiled, petting him. (The dog, not Shane.) "How about...hmm...oh I don't know. We'll figure it out later when daddy gets here, won't we?" I cooed, as he licked my face.

I went back into my room - the dog following me, and began putting on makeup. (Me, not the dog)

But you knew that.

I hope.

The dog jumped up onto my leg and I dropped a powder container in surprise. I watched as the whole thing fell over onto the floor. The dog jumped and ran out.

"Shit..." I mumbled, and turned the faucet on. I first threw away my now empty powder box and then began wiping the tiled floor with some wet paper towels. I then wiped the floor with a dry towel and turned the faucet off.

I think I scared the puppy.

Oops.

I walked out of the bathroom and went into the main room, calling for him.

"Where are you? Where are you, baby?" I cooed at him. I went into Jason's room - he wasn't there. I went all around the main room and the kitchen area. Maybe he'd gone back into his pen or something. I looked - but he wasn't there. I went back into my room in hopes of finding him.

"Where are you my adorable darling baby?"

"I'm right here," Someone said. I gasped - dogs can't talk! Who's in here? I flipped around.

"Shane! Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me!"

"Hello to you too..." he grinned.

"What are you doing here?"

"Problem at the radio station - it burned down a couple days ago."

"I can see how that can be a problem..." I laughed. "I didn't hear you come in."

"The faucet was on, when you came out you didn't see me because you kept looking down, I decided to surprise you."

"Did you find the dog?"

"He's with Jason. Do you like him?"

I smiled, relaxing a bit. I ran over to Shane and jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms and legs tightly around him. He chuckled and pulled me close.

"I love him. Thank you." Shane smiled and kissed me gently. "I love the other presents also, especially the flowers."

"I'm glad. Happy Birthday," he smiled and hugged me again.

**1:30 PM**

The radio station gig was the last thing they had to do that day, so the boys were free this afternoon. I was lazing on the couches with Shane and the puppy (who's name is James Bond, by the way) when suddenly, the main door opened and in marched Jason, Nate, Shaun and Andy all in a line like a little parade.

"We've come bearing gifts for the lady," Jason bowed.

"Ooh, presents, gimme!" I clapped my hands like a 5-year-old.

"Me first, me first!" Shaun pushed his way over to me and handed me a thick envelope. "These were extra super major hard to get, but I did it for you," he said, the last bit in a loving voice. I opened the envelope and took out what looked like concert tickets. I read them off.

"Front row to Aerosmith's one night only in Australia New Years Eve concert?" I squealed.

"That's them." He grinned. "And there are two tickets."

"Ah, Shaun you're the best!" I said getting up. I gave him a really, REALLY tight hug. "Too bad there's only two..."

"Yeah, so who are you going to take?" Nate asked. "I'm merely asking you this as your one and only cousin who flew you out to Australia in the first place."

"...and I'm speaking as the biggest Aerosmith fan in the whole world," Jason began.

"Liar," Andy retorted.

"You guys, there's a very easy way to settle this," I said.

"How?" Shaun, Nate and Jason asked simultaneously.

"Hey Shane, wanna go to an Aerosmith concert with me?"

"Okay." He grinned.

"There, now it's settled." I said. "Who's next?"

Nate and Jason's jaws dropped.

"Well I was going to give you a present way cooler than stupid Aerosmith tickets but-" Jason began.

"Oh god," Andy said, pushing past Jason. "Here, enjoy." He handed me a huge wrapped box. I unwrapped it slowly and found it to be an assortment of Godiva Chocolates.

"I _love_ Godiva! Thanks, Andy, you rock!" I said and hugged him.

"Happy Birthday," he smiled, sitting down next to Shaun.

"This is from me, and I don't care if I don't get to see Aerosmith because I'm not bitter," Nate said cheekily and handed me a little white box with a bow on it. I slowly opened it and found a silver charm bracelet with a diamond encrusted 'M' as the first charm.

"Oh Nathan - it's beautiful. Thank you." I said and hugged him. He gently reached for my wrist and busied himself with the clasp. Once it was on and I kept turning my wrist, admiring it. It must have cost thousands of dollars.

"Alright, here's my way-cooler-than-Shaun's present," Jason said as he handed me a big brown paper bag.

He was never one for wrapping.

"You got me a bagged lunch?"

"Just look inside," I shrugged and set it down. I reached in and pulled out a huge white binder-type thing. It was beautiful - it was adorned with roses and gold designs, it even had my name engraved at the bottom. "It's a photo album," Jason smiled. I was amazed. I stood up and hugged him tightly.

"It's beautiful, thanks, Jason."

"Happy Birthday, gorgeous."

"I still have another present, but I can't give it to you until tonight," Shane grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop spending money on me Shane, 19 is not such an important year."

"What else did he get you besides a dog?" Nate asked with interest. I looked at Shane and then back at Nate.

"Oh you know - perfume and uh... well perfume." I looked away - I knew if I looked at Nate any longer I'd just be so prone to tell him what else Shane got me. "So, what's at 7?" I asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Oh yeah," Shaun said. "Seven."

"What am I supposed to be ready for?"

"I guess I wasn't very descriptive," Shane replied, scratching his head. "We're climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge."

**6:25 PM**

"Can we go now, please?" Jason whined from the main room.

"I'm almost ready, fuck," I sighed, grabbing my pink hoodie. I had on tight, low-rise black jeans and a white tank top. "...and besides," I said, finally coming out. Everyone was sitting around, waiting. "...today's my birthday and I'm a princess, so quit your bitching," I grinned mischievously, sticking my tongue out.

It was about a thirty-minute ride to the bridge where we would start climbing. When we stepped out of the car and I looked up at exactly how tall the bridge was, I think I almost had a heart attack - but I didn't say anything - if I'm going to die - it may as well be on my birthday.

At first we met up with some director guy who gave us the run-through and a test to see if we were all in the right physical and mental state to do this.

Honestly – I'm surprised I passed.

We all got strapped in our climbing suits this order: Shaun, Me, Shane, Jason, Andy, Nate.

The first half seemed to take an eternity - I was so incredibly freaked out that by the time I got to the peak, I froze.

"I can't do this - I'm going to die," I cried, gripping the bars with all my strength.

"You're not going to die," Shane assured me.

"You don't know that!" I barked.

I think he was laughing at me.

Prick.

"Look, if you fall - which is virtually impossible by the way, I'll jump after you, okay?"

Aww!

"But then YOU'D die!"

"No one is going to die!"

"Shane, I don't want you to die,"

"I'm not going to die! No one is dying here tonight. Not me, not you, not Jason, not Nate!"

"You forgot Shaun," I said.

"Shaun won't die either,"

"And Andy."

He sighed. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Or him either."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay, but if I fall then you can't jump after me,"

"You're NOT going to FALL."

"Shane, I might!"

"I promise you won't,"

"Promise that if I do, you won't jump after me."

"Fine, if you fall, which you won't, I won't jump after you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"I thought you don't want me to die."

"I don't want you to die by jumping after me; I want you to hope to die if you break your promise,"

"By means of jumping after you, which would make me die anyway? So really I'm dying twice if I jump."

"Exactly."

"Okay. Ready to move along then?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"FINALLY!" Jason called from behind.

"What's the holdup?" Nate called, confused.

"There's no holdup, I'm moving..." I said, travelling another few feet.

"Hey, Mitchie?"

"Yeah?"

"If you fell, and I didn't jump, how could I live without you?"

!!!

Is he the cutest, or what?

You don't need to answer that.

He is.

I stopped again.

"Won't you be happy knowing you'd be doing what I want?"

"As in living?"

"Yeah."

"But I love you. If you're not alive, then I can't function."

"But if I'm dead, and then you die, then I'll be a bitter dead person."

"But wouldn't you rather be a bitter dead person than a lonely one?"

"So even if I'm bitter after I die you'll still love me?"

"I will always love you," he said.

"Okay, but I still don't want you to die. You deserve to live."

"But I won't love life if you're not around."

"Are you just trying to get me into that lingerie?"

"Shh!" he said, jerking his head towards Nate.

"Hey, Mitchie in lingerie - that's something I'd like to see," Jason piped up.

"Jason!" Nate, Shane and I barked in unison.

"What?"

"Take a cold shower," I mumbled.

"Well I might be able to if I ever get down from here!"

"Yeah - I'm falling asleep here, can we please move?" Andy said.

"Hey, where's Shaun?" I said, moving again.

"Probably already at the bottom," Jason laughed.

**10:00 PM**

We made it down from the bridge okay. Shane was right, no one died. But still… It was a legitimate fear! We quickly stopped at a McDonalds while we all got a quick dinner. It had been unanimously decided that we would go out clubbing for my birthday. Which was good, because the clubbing age here was 18.

I think I love Australia.

The guys were never ones to do things by halves; so here we were in a limo, on the way to Club 299 in the inner-city. We had already picked up Tess and Caitlyn, so there were 9 of us in the car, chatting excitedly and being filmed by Ryan who had his camera glued to his hand.

I ran my hand along my thigh, smoothing out my black dress. Shane was next to me, his arm casually slung around my shoulders. Every so often he would bend down and whisper things in my ear.

Things that if I repeated – Nate would have a heart attack.

We got to the club, and as the guys were considered VIP, we were escorted to the front of the line, and given wristbands for the VIP section. It was up a flight of stairs – manned by a very tough looking security guard. The room itself wasn't exactly a room, with there only being two walls. The other two sides had fences that overlooked the dance floor.

Life is good.

No.

Life is magically wonderfully spectacular.

"We're gonna go looking for chicks," Jason said, grabbing Shaun by the shirt as soon as we threw our belongings into the corner of the room.

"What else is new?" Andy rolled his eyes, holding hands with Tess.

"We're going to go dancing, let's go Nate," Caitlyn said happily, pulling a grimacing Nate towards the stairs.

"What do you want to do, miss?" Shane whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"Let's stay here for a bit," I grinned mischievously, grabbing his hand and leading him towards a bright red couch.

"I like that plan," he agreed with a huge grin on his face. I can't say I noticed where Andy and Tess had gone went once we got to the couch - because well, I was kind of distracted.

Can you blame me?

I felt the back of my calves touch the couch. Shane winked at me before pushing me down and jumping on top of me. As he crashed his lips against mine in a fiery kiss, I wrapped my arms around his neck as his hands began trailing down my body.

"You're wearing - a - dress - " He said, in between kisses.

"That's okay - you - can - rip - it - off - later -" I replied. He paused, smiling down at me.

"Wanna do body shots?" I grinned mischievously.

"But you're wearing a dress!"

"Different body shots," I said, worming my way from underneath him. I went over to the bar and returned a few minutes later with some split limes and a salt dispenser.

"Where's the alcohol?" he questioned, as I sat down next to him.

"We don't need any," I smiled, "Gimme your wrist."

He moved his arm towards me and I grabbed his wrist. I took a lime and squeezed it over his wrist and then sprinkled a little salt on it. Keeping my eyes locked with his, I brought his wrist to my mouth, sucking and licking the mixture off.

"Try it," I said extending my wrist and licking my lips. He took a lime and the salt and did the same. His lips made my whole body tingle as he sucked the juice off my wrist.

"Good, isn't it?"

"Very," he grinned, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Lie down your back," he told me, his voice low. I blushed and did as he said.

Shane hovered over me, barely touching me. He squeezed some lime onto my collarbone, tracing a pattern in it with his finger, not even bothering about the salt. Shane lowered his head over that area and flicked his tongue out making me gasp softly. He chuckled to himself and placed his mouth of the spot, sucking and licking. Once he was sure it was all gone, he placed soft kisses up my neck until he reached my lips.

"You smell good," he commented, nuzzling his nose into my cheek.

"I'm wearing the perfume you gave me," I said.

"Nice," he commented. Suddenly his cell phone rang.

He looked at me.

"You can answer it, its fine," I smiled at him, flattening my dress with my hands.

He smiled and kissed my cheek. "I love you."

"Hello? No, mom it's fine, what's wrong? …What? …No, don't worry about it, I'm coming home. I'll leave tomorrow, just be calm, okay?"

I watched as his face turned completely pale.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked worriedly after he hung up.

"My dad was in a car accident - he's in the hospital," he said, standing up, running his hands through his hair. He sat back down again and put his face in his hands.

"Shane I'm so sorry -" I said rubbing his shoulder. He stood up and began pacing, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'll help you pack, okay?"

**Hope you all enjoyed that!**

**It would mean a lot if you could all review and tell me what you think!**

Remember, I also have photos of Andy and Shaun up on my profile for those of you who are interested. They're much better looking in real life though – trust me ;)

**Breeeee**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ooh, is that a lemon I smell? I think it is! Finally, right guys? :D  
I was struck with a brilliant new idea for a story today, but I won't start putting them up until I've at least finished Between You And I.**

**A couple of people have been asking, about where I get inspiration for Mitchie's character.  
I've based her loosely on myself. Everything she says is usually based on something I say, or have said. Etcetera, eccetera.**

**I love all my reviewers to pieces! Every single one of you makes me day! You all know who you are.**

**Wednesday, December 15**

**10:45 PM**

"You go back to the hotel; I'll find everyone else and explain, okay?" I said, getting up. He stood up after me and grabbed my arm.

"No!"

"What?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Don't leave me -" he said, trembling. "I don't want to be alone, I'm scared." I think a few tears almost escaped his eyes.

"Oh, Shane," I said, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it gently. "I'll stay with you. We'll go back to the hotel together, and we'll call them there, okay?" His whole body was shaking. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "It's okay, you'll make it through, I promise," I said. He buried his head in my neck, squeezing me as hard as he could - I think.

"I'm sorry," he said, as we walked out of the club. "I know it's your birthday and now I ruined it…" he said, on the verge of tears.

"Shane, no. You didn't ruin it, okay? This is way more important than my birthday; don't even say such stupid things!" I said, as we waited in the taxi rank. He squeezed my hand tightly. I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed it. "You have to be strong - for your dad, for your mom..." I said, as a taxi pulled up. We got in and I gave the driver the address of the hotel. Shane sat so close to me he was practically sitting ON me.

"What am I going to do if I lose my dad?" he said.

"Shane, don't say that! You won't lose him!"

"He's in a coma!" he cried. Now I was scared. I've never seen Shane like this before - he's always a happy prankster. Now he's breaking down, right in front of me.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered. He dropped his head to my shoulder and began crying. I ran my hands softly through his hair and down his neck slowly. "Shh... I'm here for you, baby."

The taxi pulled up at the hotel and I helped Shane get out as I paid the fare. He gripped my hand tightly as we made our way into the lobby. I could tell he was trying hard to stay calm, but the tears were still falling from his eyes and his pulse was racing. The elevator opened and we stepped in, pushing the floor button with our joined hands.

"Do you want me to go home with you?" I said, moving some hair out of his eyes. They were red and blood-shot, the walls behind were threatening to break down.

"Please?" he said, blinking away tears, looking sadly at me. I think I was about to cry for him.

"Of course I will," I said and kissed his cheek. We got up to our suite before a light switch went off inside Shane. He was pacing backwards and forwards really quickly and was throwing anything he touched in random places. He got to our bedroom and buried his face in a pillow, screaming his lungs out.

"Shane, please, calm down," I said timidly, slowly walking up behind him.

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?" he screamed. I took a few steps back with my palms raised.

"Shane, I know you're really sad and worried and angry - but you're scaring me right now," I said, on the verge of tears myself. He looked up at me and broke down again.

"I'm so sorry my love, I just can't believe this is happening," he said, wiping his eyes off his sleeve. I slowly came over to him, and sat down next to him. I didn't say anything - I just waited to see what he would do. I was a bit hesitant to touch him. We sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"I'll call Nate," I said, getting up.

"Wait," he said, also standing up. I turned to face him. He threw his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I ran my hands up and down his back, gently comforting him.

"It'll be okay," I whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too."

**Thursday, December 16**

**4:00 PM**

We had taken off from Australia just a few hours ago. We still had a good fourteen hours of travel left until we got back to Jersey. I don't think Shane had let go of my hand in the past couple of hours. His expression was miserable and he lacked his usual upbeat personality which, in turn, made me miserable.

"Wow, first class is nice," I commented, trying to start up some sort of conversation.

"You mean Nate didn't fly you out first class the first time?" Shane said. At least it took his mind of his dad, I mean, that poor kid has been struggling too much. "Well you don't have to worry about coach ever again, okay? I'll take care of you - I'll make sure you always get the best, okay?" he said, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles.

Honestly, how sweet is he?

"I love you Shane," I said, rubbing his hand. He smiled - for the first time since he found out, that made me feel all mushy inside. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Thanks."

"You're supposed to say, 'Oh Mitchie, I love you too," I said.

"But you know that I love you - if anything changed, I would have told you," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Once again, only you can pull off the stupidest of lines," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Because I'm cool like that."

"Stop saying that."

"But it's true."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"You want me to."

"You want to."

"Not as much as you want me to."

"Bet you can't hold out as long as me,"

"Is this really the time for petty wagers?"

"Okay... if you're too scared, I mean -"

Not touching Shane?

This was going to be a BREEZE.

"Fine, you're on," I said, letting go of his hand.

I miss you already.

"Thinking about kissing me yet?" he said.

Yes.

"No."

"You will be..."

"You know what? It's really warm here," I said, slowly taking my jacket off. I was wearing a singlet that showed my midriff underneath. I knew this would get him. He started staring - but I think he caught on to what I was doing.

"I can't see so good, better get my glasses," he said, whipping those sexy frames out of his pocket.

Wait a minute - how did he know I thought he was sexy in them?

Shaun is dead when I see him next.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, a stewardess came by with a drink cart. I got a cup of ice and a bottle of water.

"Hey Shane," I said, pulling out an ice cube. I began licking it and sliding it along my lips. I knew it turned him on - some colour appeared on his face and he started to lick his own lips.

Okay, okay, I knew that with everything that was going on - this was the last thing to be occupied with - but he wasn't depressed and he was smiling - so I guess this little 'game' was a good thing.

"Thirsty?" He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. His eyes narrowed and a grin began curling against his lips.

"I know you can't resist a sleeping Shane," he said leaning to one side. He shut his eyes and I wasn't sure if he really tried to go to sleep or if he was just trying to get me to lose. Either way, he was right; I can't resist a sleeping Shane! He looks so precious - so cute. But of course, I couldn't let him know that.

"Watch me," I said, turning my head, looking out the window. "FUCK, did you know we were that high?" I said, gripping his arm. I turned my head away from the window and he was grinning.

"You lose..." he said.

"That's not fair I was distracted!" I whined.

"Doesn't matter. Now you owe me..." he said, still grinning. I smiled and leaned over, kissing his lips gently.

"How's that?"

"Hmm... I don't know, I think I may need to re-experience that," he said. I sighed playfully and leaned over again. This time his tongue ran across my bottom lip, I didn't allow his tongue to enter though. I broke the kiss.

"Hey!" he pouted.

"We're on a plane," I said. "We can't do this here,"

"You're right - meet you in the bathroom in five minutes," He grinned, getting up. I rolled my eyes and pulled him back down.

"You wish."

**Thursday, December 16 **

**7:00 PM**

Eleven hours left of travel.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Gray," I said, turning to him. He was listening to his iPod but I pulled out the ear pieces so he could listen to me.

"What?"

"You don't have an apartment; you live in Shaun's basement!"

"I was waiting for you to say something about that..." he said, turning his iPod off.

"How come when I asked you if you lived anywhere you said you had an apartment?"

"Well I was working on it - sort of. I figured we could go apartment hunting together after the holidays," he said, shrugging. He did that cute thing where he lifted his shoulders and eyebrows.

"Oh."

"Unless you want to move into Shaun's?"

"No."

"Okay good. 'Cause that probably would not have worked out well..."

"So like, where?"

"Where what?"

"Where do you want to go apartment hunting?"

"I don't really know."

"But I mean I can find something else. I don't have to do that Frontenac internship just yet. I'd rather be where you wanna be. Besides, don't you have to be near the recording studio?"

"I guess... but I don't want you to give up your future for me..."

"Oh please. Hotel management? That's not my future. I don't know what I want to do - but trust me, if I really tried; I could find something suitable in wherever, okay?" He sort of shrugged and half smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"I'll help you," he offered. I might as well give him that - I mean, he is trying really hard.

"Okay." I smiled.

"So, what are you listening to?" I said, taking one of the ear pieces and putting it in my ear.

"The All American Rejects," he said, smiling.

"Move Along? I love this song. 'And even when your hope is gone, move along, move along just to make it through…'" I sang softly. I could see Shane smiling at me from the side.

I suppose if you thought about it, those lyrics could really describe Shane's situation at the moment. I smiled and silently thanked Tyson Ritter.

"You can listen to mine," I said, handing it to him. I put the other ear piece of his in my other ear and began slowly moving my head to the beat.

"What is this?" He said, scrolling through some songs, his eyebrows furrowed. "You have fifteen Connect 3 songs in a row on here." He looked at me oddly.

"Can't help it," I said. "I'm burnin' up for you. Get it? Haha, burnin' up." I grinned.

He sighed and shook his head. "Hilarious," he said, sarcastically.

"I've got more. Ready? Hold On because You've Got Me Going Crazy and When You Look Me In The Eyes, I'm Still In Love With You. Oh god I'm clever," I said, grinning.

"You have a lot of free time, don't you?"

"Shut up. You're just jealous because I'm witty and smart," I said, sitting up straight.

"Your voice is starting to annoy me," he yawned, pretending to turn the volume all the way up.

"You know you love it."

"I love it like I love pot - in small doses when no one's looking."

"You know you just compared me to pot?" I said. "...and using a very un-funny joke."

"Sorry, I couldn't think of a funny one because I was too distracted by N*SYNC," he said, showing me the screen.

"Guilty pleasure..." I shrugged.

"You could've picked a better guiltier pleasure."

"Like peeing in the shower?" He rolled his eyes.

**8:00 PM**

Shane wasn't talking to me because apparently I interrupted his relaxation method. Whatever that was. He also wouldn't give me my iPod back.

Even at dinner, Shane still didn't say anything to me. I think at one point he was about to ask me for a napkin, but right before he did, a stewardess came by and he asked her instead.

I didn't show any signs of actually caring - well because, we both knew this was one of those cutsie games like before, again to see who would hold out the longest.

"Shane you have to move," I stated.

No answer.

"Shane you have to move because I want to go to sleep and I can't lean against the seat if you're in the way."

No answer still.

"Shane I have to lean against the seat and not the window because I'm afraid it could break and then I'd fall out."

No answer, but a significant chuckle.

"I can't lean back because there's a person behind me and it's rude."

No answer.

"Fine, have it your way," I shrugged and rested my head on his lap. "Remember what I said about waking a sleeping person - and we're on a plane, so be careful," I warned, turning up the iPod.

At first he didn't react, but a couple of minutes later I felt him caressing my cheek. I smiled into his touch. With his other hand, he grazed it lightly down my arm and from the back of my hand, laced his fingers with mine. I slowly lifted my head and re-rested it onto his shoulder.

"I wasn't really asleep."

"I know," he said. "Mitchie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." I smiled.

"Thanks."

**8:00 AM**

We landed in Jersey a couple of hours ago. We first went to Shane's house, a.k.a Shaun's house, to drop off some stuff, and then we went straight to the hospital to meet Mrs. Gray. We stepped off the elevator to floor 5 in the hospital and Shane spotted his mom immediately.

"Mom," he said, rushing over to her. She had bags under her eyes and looked dead on her feet. Poor woman. She wasn't even that old - like late forties early fifties. He hugged her tightly and I just stood there, not wanting to ruin their moment.

"How are you? How's dad?" Shane asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me, Shane. And he's still in the coma. They don't know when he will wake up," she said, on the verge of tears. By the look of her eyes, I'm guessing that more than once the tears had spilt over. Shane hugged her again. After they broke apart, I stepped forward.

"Hi, Mrs. Gray, I'm Nate's cousin, Mitchie, we met a few times before?"

"Oh yes, of course I remember you dear, who could forget such a face, such… such hair," she said, stroking my hair. I hugged her gently even though she may or may not have been referring to the Rose factor.

"I'm very sorry," I said when we broke apart.

"Thank you," she said, slowly sitting down on a seat.

"We'll tell her about the moving deal later, I think," Shane casually whispered to me.

"Does she even know about us?" I whispered back.

"Of course! Well, actually, I have only been able to talk to her once or twice since 'we' happened, but she knows."

"Oh. Okay."

**Friday, December 17**

**10:30 PM**

I spent the day in the hospital, by Shane's side almost the whole time - literally. His mom came in and out of the room that his father was in, and Shane went in once - but for a very long time. His dad was still in a coma.

"I think you two should go home to sleep," Mrs. Gray told us, returning from the room rubbing her face in her hands. "I'm going to sleep in there."

"But mom, don't you think you should be the one to-" Shane protested. But she cut him off.

"Shane, please, you were travelling all day yesterday and then today you've been here all day - please, I want you to get some sleep. At home, in a nice, comfortable bed."

"But mom-"

"Shane! Don't worry about me, alright? If you won't go for yourself, go for me. Please, Shane, just get some sleep. You need it."

"Are you sure?" he sighed. I stood there silently by Shane's side.

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow. Okay? Now, go!" she said. Shane shrugged and gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Mrs. Gray. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I said. I held my arms out for a hug and she smiled at me before embracing me. We watched her go back into the room and as soon as the door closed, Shane grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Thanks," he said, as we walked towards the elevator.

"Don't even mention it," I said. "I want to be here for you and for your mom, okay?" He nodded, still holding my hand in what felt like a death-grip.

"Do you want to spend the night with me at Shaun's?" he said, as we got in.

"Do you want me to? Because I thought maybe you might feel like you want to be alone or something?"

"No - I want you there. I want you to be with me," he said, his eyebrows creasing together looking at me worriedly. This was one of those times that he really needed security, emotionally.

"Okay, I'll stay with you," I said, kissing his hand.

Poor baby.

When we got out of the elevator, Shane led me outside to the parking lot and into his car. Just as we pulled out of the parking lot, the sky became a couple of shades darker and rain started drizzling from above.

"Amazing," Shane mumbled.

"What?"

"The sky - it's crying with me."

What exactly was I supposed to say to that? How do you respond? It's kind of deep - beautiful even, but still, what do you say? Words failing me, which never happens, might I add - I placed my hand on his shoulder and massaged it gently. Suddenly my phone rang. I knew by the ringtone that it was Nate.

"It's Nate," I said, digging it out of my purse. Shane nodded. "Hello?"

"Hey Mitchie, are you guys at the hospital?" came Nate's voice.

"We just left. We're going home to sleep."

"Are you going to Shane's?"

"Yeah - why?"

"Umm, well good. Stay there tonight."

"Why?" I mean, I knew why I wanted to stay with Shane, but what did Nate know that I didn't?

"Just don't go home – at least, not alone,"

"What? Why? Nate, tell me something here!" I said. Shane looked over at me.

"Is Shane there?"

"Yes - I told you we just left; do you want to speak to him?"

"No, no, just, just don't leave him alone, okay?"

"I wasn't going to… is that it?"

"Look, I can't tell you this right now, will you call me when you get there?" Nate almost pleaded.

"Um... okay?"

"Okay, bye," he said. "Oh, tell Shane we're all here for him - I mean, we're not there, we're here, but we wish we could be there, well, he knows what we mean. Okay, bye."

"Bye Nate..." I said, flipping my phone shut. "That was strange..." I murmured to myself.

"What?" Shane said.

"I don't know... but he said I should call him when we get there, so I guess I'll find out then..."

Shane just smiled grimly at me. The rain was pouring harder now, and I began to get a little nervous. I mean, the weather was bad and Shane, a not so stable guy at the moment, was at the wheel.

"Are we almost there?" I said, never having been to Shaun's place.

"Fifteen minutes. You were there already remember?" Shane replied. I nodded.

Oh right. Of course.

Silence filled the car for the next couple of minutes.

"Hey baby?" Shane said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever think about working in the music industry? Because I know someone who might be able to use an intern soon and -"

"Please don't tell me that's what you've been thinking about... it's really not important right now."

"No, I want to know."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I don't know."

"No?"

"I mean - Shane, music, that's not me. That's you, that's Nate, that's the rest of the guys. Not me."

"Why?"

"I'm looking for work that I can have a career in - there's nothing in music for me, I can't manage, I can't direct, the only thing I could probably do at a music studio is pour coffee," I laughed to myself.

"Are you sure?"

"Do we have to talk about this now?" I said, starting to get a little annoyed. Not at him for asking, but that fact that he is thinking about me instead of his dad and mom and himself. There was another silence. The skies took that opportunity to open up and we heard a lightning crash. I shrieked, grabbing onto the seat. I hated lightning.

Hated, hated, HATED!

It's scary, it's loud and it messes with the phone lines!

Lightning and heights are my two biggest fears.

"Are you scared?" Shane asked, turning into the neighbourhood. Good, we were almost there.

"Are you going to laugh at me?" I said, my lip quivering. He shook his head, his hair falling into his eyes.

I nodded. Shane took one hand off the wheel and placed it over mine, rubbing my knuckles with his thumb.

"We're here," he said, parking in front of the two-story house. We got out and Shane quickly fished the keys out of his pocket. The rain was really coming down hard at this point, and I hated my clothes being wet. He quickly opened the door and slammed it after we both got in.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. I shook my head. "Okay. You can call Nate if you want, I'll be downstairs."

"Wait!" I yelped before he even got down one step. He turned around. "Will you stay up here with me?" He nodded, coming over to me. He put his arm around my shoulders as we walked into the living room. I picked up the phone and sat down on the couch next to Shane. Too bad for Shaun who was going to have to pay for that phone call - but there was no way a cell phone was going to work in this weather.

"Mitchie?" Nate picked up after a few rings.

"We're here," I noted.

"Okay."

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Is Shane near by?"

"Why?" I said, careful not to answer his question.

"Look - don't tell him we told you to do this, but, we're really worried about him. Lately, well not recently lately, but over this passed year, he grew to become more, um, serious… sensitive,"

"Serious?" I said, doubting that statement.

"Just don't leave him alone for too long, okay? We're worried he might hurt himself, you know, do something stupid."

"You really think that will happen?" I said.

"I don't think so. Just, take care of him, okay?"

"I will." I said. My feelings at this point were mixed and confused. Was Shane really one to cut? I mean - really? A prankster like him? Would he burn himself?

No...

No.

But just in case, I guess I had to watch out for it.

"Bye Nate..." I said, as we hung up. I looked over at Shane who was staring off straight ahead, no emotion on his face.

"Downstairs?" he said, standing up. I nodded, following him. There was a significant change in temperature between the top and bottom steps. It was at least 15 degrees colder. "I know it's chilly," he said, turning a light on. "Sorry."

"It's okay," I smiled at him, wishing he would smile.

"Do you want to take a shower first?" he asked, extending his hand towards me in a gesture for me to take it.

"Okay," I nodded and smiled shyly.

"Shane?" I mumbled. He turned and looked at me. "I love you." And to my relief, he smiled. A warm smile that went all the way up to his eyes.

"I love you too."

**11:30PM**

We stepped into the small bathroom and Shane let go of my hand to turn the shower on. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and brushed the damp hair out of my face. Steam filled up the room and it was getting more difficult to make out my reflection. I did, however, see a figure walk up behind me before he snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me back into him.

"You can't shower with your clothes on," he chuckled, leaning down to blow lightly over my neck. He was so much taller than me that I could rest my head back onto his shoulder. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and tugged it up and off my body.

"Neither can you," I giggled, turning around in his arms and grabbing the bottom of his shirt in one movement. Swiftly, I tugged the shirt upwards, though not nearly as gracefully as Shane had, as it got stuck around his head.

"Fat head," I giggled as Shane let me go to finish removing his shirt. Shane chuckled at my comment.

"Shorty." Shane prodded me softly in the chest.

"I think the correct term is vertically challenged," I grinned, standing up on my toes to reach his neck while simultaneously unhooking his belt buckle. His whole body jerked as my hand brushed over his groin. I chuckled to myself under my breath. Shane grabbed my hips and picked me up to place me on the counter. He stood between my legs bent over to attack my neck with his lips.

"Shane..." I whispered, throwing my head back as he lightly sucked in one place. "I want... to do... whatever you want... to do... now..." Shane chuckled to himself at my reaction and moved his hands down to the button on my jeans. Unhooking it with his fingers, he grabbed my hips and lifted me up allowing me to pull them off.

"Fuck, Mitchie," he sighed into my neck.

"What?"

"You're beautiful." I blushed.

"Your turn, Mr. Gray." I wriggled forward on the counter and pulled his previously undone belt from the belt loops on his jeans. I dropped it to the floor and before we heard it hit the ground, I was already unbuttoning his jeans. Shane took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning into me and playing with the clasp on my bra. Before undoing the zip, I lightly trailed my fingers down it, and continuing over the seam until I heard his audibly gasp, his body reacting to my touch.

"Mitchie, please," he almost begged, just as he unhooked my bra, throwing it to the floor to join the rest of the clothing.

"Please what?" I feigned innocence as I trailed my hand back up. He didn't reply, but growled playfully at me, snapping the waistband of my underwear against my skin. I relented a bit and grabbed the zipper, slowly pulling it down. Though, because he was wearing skinny jeans, they didn't fall. I hopped off the counter and grabbed the waistband of his jeans, lowering them to the floor. Now we were both in just our lower half underwear. My head was in line with his waist, and in one swift movement, I yanked his boxers down as his member sprang free of its material confines. I slowly stroked my hand along it before Shane grabbed my me and pulled me up so I was standing again.

"As cute as these are," he said, referring to my underwear, "they have to go." He hooked his thumbs down both sides and pulled them, letting them fall to my feet. He picked me up by my waist again and settled me on the counter. He leaned over to kiss me and I gasped embarrassingly loudly as his erection pressed up against my thigh. He chuckled and threw one arm around my back, and one under my ass, carrying me bridal style to the shower.

The shower was a quick one, but eventful nonetheless. Shane pressed himself behind me, massaging my shoulders with body wash. So it was only fair that I returned the favour for him. I grabbed the body was and traced it over each of his chest muscles, making them ripple and tense every time I glided my hand over. Next; his arms. Then; his stomach, I poured more body wash into my hand and lightly rubbed it over his abs. Shane, tensing every time my hand dipped a little low, moaned appreciatively.

Shane turned off the shower, and after drying each other with a towel, he carried me into his bedroom. He lifted his comforter and sheets allowing me to get in, him sliding in after me. Shane rolled over on top of me, his knees on the inside of my own, pushing my legs apart. He rested his weight on his forearms as he kissed me gently.

"Shane, please," I moaned into his mouth, squirming under him trying to make contact.

"Patience, my love," he chuckled, pushing aside my hair from my face. He reached down and grabbed his cock with one hand, tracing slowly up and down my wetness.

"Shane," I breathed, closing my eyes tight. He laughed deep in his throat before guiding himself into me and thrusting deep. I gasped as he slowly but surely pulled out again, before pushing back in.

"Mitch," he groaned, dropping his head and nipping at my collarbone. From this position, I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged lightly.

"Shane, I'm… going… to…" I trailed off, panting.

"Me too," he agreed, thrusting harder now.

"Oh! Fuck," I cried, climaxing around him. Shane grunted, as my release sent him over the edge as well. He tensed above me as we both rode it out together.

"Amazing," he muttered, rolling off me and snuggling up, facing me. I smiled and kissed his nose.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

**Whoaaaa. How about that then, hey?As always, let me know what you think! I honestly want to hear from every single one of you!  
Did we like the lemon at the end? Or not so much…? Want to see more? Less graphic? More graphic?  
Remember, I have no idea unless you give me feedback. :)**

**Love,  
Bree  
xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright, so this is basically just a filler-chapter. Real life has gotten in the way a bit with my updating, but give me a week or so :)  
****Hope everyone had a happy Easter!**

**Saturday, December 18  
****12:30 AM**

"Wow..." I whispered. I was snuggled up against Shane, under the covers, staring past him. My head was on his chest and his arm was around me.

"Impressive, huh?" he said, grinning.

"Pfft, don't overinflate that pretty little head of yours, that's not what I was talking about," I said. "All guys are the same..."

"Then what were you saying, 'wow' for?" he said, sounding disappointed. I reached over him, to the nightstand by him and grabbed his black wristband that was sitting there. It had the word, 'FUCK' printed across it in bold, white letters.

"This," I said, placing it on his nose.

He laughed, "Oh yeah," he said, taking it off his face.

"You really don't know what to spend money on these days, do you?" I said, shaking my head.

"Hey, this is awesome, okay?" He said, defending his purchase.

"I wonder what your mom would say if I told her - 'oh, by the way, Mrs. Gray, your son has a collection of bracelets with profane words written all over them.'"

"For your information," he began, "I only have one, and secondly,"

"You never said firstly,"

"Fine, that was first, secondly," he said, "First my 'SLUT' shirt, now my 'FUCK' bracelet? What's wrong with a little profanity? It's just words. It expresses who I am in all my Shaneivity," he said, crossing his arms.

"Shaneivity?"

"Precisely," he replied. I sighed, kissing his cheek.

"I accept your Shaneivity then," I said, resting my head back on his chest.

"Good."

"So then can I call you my fucking slut?"

"Like a slut for fucking or just a fucking slut?" Shane chuckled.

My fist came in contact with his bicep.

"Hey, so now that we did it, when can we do it again?" he said, smiling giddily.

"You act like that was your first time," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well it was - with you. That's the only time it mattered."

Aww!

!!!!!!!!!!

"Where do you get these lines?" I said, laughing.

"How come every time I try to be sensitive and romantic you always turn it into a joke?" he pouted. I smiled.

"I'm sorry," I said and kissed him on the lips. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"Christmas is in a week."

"Oh yeah..." Shane said. "I took all the stuff for the guys with me - I didn't even think about Christmas," Shane said.

"Who knows, maybe they'll come home?"

"I doubt it... I guess I'll mail them..."

"This wasn't where you were expecting to be celebrating Christmas, huh?"

"It's where I wanted to - but not like this. Not with my dad in the hospital and my mom - all worried the way she is and away from the guys - they're like my brothers," Shane said.

"At least your family wants to spend the holidays with you..." I said, closing my eyes.

"I'm sure your parents miss you," Shane said, rubbing my back.

"I'm sure they do..." I said sarcastically. "You know they haven't even called me once since they left?" I said, raising my head to look at him. "Not even to wish me happy birthday." A tear escaped my eye, dancing a pattern along my cheek. I wiped it away with the back of my hand quickly.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, and pulled me closer to him. "You have me, okay? And the guys, we all care about you, okay?"

"You're all I have," I said as a few more tears leaked out. "I don't have a job, I don't go to school, my friends betrayed me, my parents abandoned me, you and Nate are all I have Shane," I cried. That's right, CRIED. Shane squeezed me tight.

"Baby, I'm sorry... but you're right, you have me, and I'll take care of you, okay? Forever" he said so lovingly, kissing my head. He wrapped his arms around me and rocked me back and forth.

"I've never told anyone else that," I whispered.

**10:00 AM**

My eyes fluttered opened to find that I was alone in the bed. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and turned my head towards Shane's pillow. There, resting in the centre, was a single red rose. I grinned wickedly, remembering the night before. I rolled out of bed. I rummaged through Shane's draws until I found a faded band shirt, and a pair of old boxers. I don't think he'll mind. I slowly made my way upstairs twirling the rose between my finers. I found Shane in the kitchen, hunched over the counter eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey," I smiled, walking over to him. I kissed his cheek. "Thanks for the flower." He smiled and scrunched his face up.

So fucking cute.

"Cereal?" he asked, his mouth half-full. He pushed a box of Froot Loops towards me.

"Nah, I'll pass, sure looks healthy though" I teased, sitting next to him. "You could've woken me, you know," I said, twirling the flower by the stem.

"You looked so cute and I wanted you to sleep. Besides, I only woke up half an hour ago anyway," he said, digging his spoon into the bowl.

"Oh. Okay."

"Ready to go?" he said, finishing his cereal.

"Um, I'll just go get dressed first."

"But you look sexy like that."

"Only to you."

"That's all that matters."

"I guess. But I don't think your mom would be too pleased," I poked my tongue out at him. He sighed and admitted defeat, smacking my ass playfully as I skipped back downstairs to his room.

"Now you're ready to go?" he eyed me appreciatively as I re-emerged back up the stairs.

"I guess so," I shrugged, following him.

"I fucking hate hospitals..." he mumbled as we pulled out of the neighbourhood. I half-smiled, not exactly sure what to say opting for rubbing his shoulder. Most of the ride was silent, it wasn't the way I expected him to be after last night - not that I didn't realize that his father was in a coma in a hospital, just that I thought he'd feel a little better.

"Maybe..." I said, "Maybe your dad will wake up today?" I said, shrugging my shoulders, trying to be a little positive.

"Did you hear about that one woman who just woke up from being in a coma for twenty years?" Shane mumbled.

"Shane, that doesn't mean that will happen to your dad. Don't always expect the worst," Shane looked at me briefly, and then back at the road. That's when I remembered Rose - he was already dealt the worst then, so he probably felt like it would happen like that again. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, looking down.

"You mean well," he said, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a grim smile. I shrugged, keeping my head down. He took one hand off the wheel and brushed his thumb across my cheek. I looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. He also managed one. We entered the parking lot and Shane parked, turning the car off. "Ready?" he said, talking more to himself than me.

I nodded. He leaned over and kissed me, softly, but with passion. I smiled, unhooking the seatbelt. Shane walked around to my side of the car and shut the door behind me. He grabbed my hand tightly as we made our way through the lobby and into the elevator. We met his mother in the waiting area of his father's floor. She shook her head, signifying that he had not woken up yet.

"I'm going get us some coffee, okay, baby?" I said to Shane. He nodded and I disappeared down a hallway.

I lied.

I was looking for a bathroom.

I think I was about to puke.

Holy shit - DID WE USE A CONDOM LAST NIGHT?

I'm sure it's nothing...

**Saturday, December 18  
****10:20 AM**

By the time I had actually found a bathroom - I felt normal again. It's like my mind was playing tricks on me just because somewhere in my head, a little voice was singing, 'You didn't use a condom!'. I shook the whole thing off, praying that I wouldn't be experiencing any _real_ symptoms this week. I left the bathroom and turned to the elevator; I'm sure the receptionist would know about where coffee machines were.

"Mitchie?" I heard.

Hmm, that voice seems familiar…

I turned to see Mrs. Langston, Josh's mother. She was a nurse at the hospital – I'd totally forgotten. What were the chances that we'd actually bump into each other though? She worked in the maternity ward.

Okay. Thank you, Ashton – come out, come out wherever you are. Someone was fucking with me – I just knew it.

"Hi, Mrs. Langston," I smiled, being polite.

"I haven't seen you around the house recently, how are you?"

"I'm okay, but I guess Josh hasn't told you that we aren't together anymore," I said awkwardly. Why the fuck hasn't Josh said anything? What a fucking limey prick.

"Oh," she said, half-smiling. "Well, that's too bad." I shrugged. I decided it would probably be best to omit the part about Josh and Sierra and me catching them. "Well, what are you doing here? I hope everything is okay?" She looked concerned.

"My," I was about to say 'boyfriend' but it didn't seem right - especially since she was my ex-boyfriend's mom. "...friend's father is a patient here, I'm just visiting," I explained with a grim smile.

"Oh, well I'm sorry," she said, half-smiling again. Again, I shrugged. This was awkward. "Well, I must be off - duty calls, it was nice talking to you," she said, rushing off. Guess she felt it too.

"Same," I called after her, but she'd disappeared. I walked all the way back to where Shane's father's floor.

"Hey you're back," Shane genuinely smiled, looking pleased, standing up as I approached. "Where's the coffee?"

Oh right. Coffee.

"I um... couldn't find it," I said, which wasn't entirely a lie.

"Oh," he said, looking slightly disappointed. "Come sit down," he offered his hand. I took it and he led me towards a row of seats. I sat down next to him, crossing my legs on the seat.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, lacing my fingers with his.

"How do I look?" he asked, looking down at me.

Not looking down ON me.

Just looking down AT me.

Because I was shorter than him.

Duh.

"You look pale," I said, brushing some of that gorgeous hair away from his eyes.

"I'm kind of tired..." he said. "I didn't really sleep last night." I lowered my eyebrows at him. "No, I mean, after that," he chuckled, grinning like an idiot. "I kinda just watched you sleep the whole night. I probably slept like two hours," he shrugged.

"I wish you'd slept more," I said, tracing the bags under his eyes with my finger. I shuffled closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. "You probably only get two hours anyway when you're doing band stuff, you should be able to sleep when you're at home."

"I'm used to it," he shrugged, using his fingers as a comb through my hair.

"I don't know how you do it," I said honestly.

"I do what I have to," he shrugged.

"So you were watching me sleep, huh?" I said, trying to lighten the mood. He kissed my forehead and placed his head on mine.

"Yep. "

"So what'd I look like?"

"Like a sleeping angel." I smiled. "What? You're not going to make fun of my bad play on words?"

"I was thinking about it - but you said you didn't want me to, I thought you were trying to be romantic?"

"Oh. Well I was. How was I?"

"I appreciate your effort," I said, laughing.

"I'm trying my best here," he said. I chuckled again, closing my eyes.

"Oh Shane," I said. "I love you."

"Thanks."

"That stopped being funny when the plane landed," I said, poking my tongue out. Not at him, but just in general. He got the idea though.

"Oh," he trailed off, thinking. "Well I love you too. But more."

"You so do not love me more," I said, sitting up straight. I didn't care that there were people around; this was an argument that I was going to win.

"Are we seriously going to have this argument?" he said.

"We don't have to, if you just admit that I love you more," I grinned wickedly at him.

"Well I can't do that," he huffed, crossing his godly arms across his chest.

"...and why not, pray tell?"

"Well a) it's not true, and b) if I were to say it, you'd accuse me of not loving you enough, and then we'd have a petty debate over that, and then-"

"...and then what?" I said, crossing my arms, raising an eyebrow.

"And then I'd kiss you, and you'll be so love struck that you'll forget about the whole thing; so let's just skip to that part and save ourselves the time, okay?" he smirked.

"Okay," I agreed, smiling.

Sounds good to me.

He leaned towards me and pressed his lips up against mine. I kissed him back until he pulled away slightly, his mouth millimetres from mine that I could still taste his hot breath blowing across my lips.

"You know, there's probably some janitor's closet nearby," he whispered. I flicked him in the thigh.

"What happened to depressed, gloomy, lacking sleep Shane?" I said.

"He turned into horny Shane," he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Are you forgetting why you're here?" I said.

"Well, first my mommy and my daddy fell in love, and then they took all their clothes off and-"

"Shane!"

"I could show you if you wanted," he said, still grinning.

"I'm going to sit over there," I pointed to the seat opposite from him, standing up.

"No, stay!" he said, pulling me back down. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. He was still gripping my hand. "Otherwise I'd miss you," he whimpered. The puppy dog eyes were out in full force. I smiled, kissing his cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere."

**4:00 PM**

Shane went in to visit his dad a few times throughout the day. Sometimes with his mom, and sometimes just by himself. His dad was still in the same condition and although I would never admit this to Shane; I was getting a little worried. We hadn't eaten since the morning, so Mrs. Gray insisted that he and I go out somewhere and get some food. She said, (with a grimace, I might add), she didn't recommend the hospital cafe. We wanted her to come with us - but she insisted on staying behind, in case anything happened. Shane was a bit reluctant to leave, but did what his mom wanted him to.

Mommy's boy.

He's adorable.

Shane and I were at Georgi's Creperie (Hehe, remember that place?) when my phone rang. It was Hellogoodbye.

"Why does he call you all the time?" Shane sighed, as I pulled out my phone. I shrugged.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"My mom said she saw you at the hospital, I'm coming over there. I need to talk to you!" I totally forgot! Even if I did ask her not to tell Josh, she would've thought it was strange and told him anyway. So I guess this was unavoidable.

"First of all, I'm not there now, and secondly, you need to stop calling me. Leave me alone, okay? I don't have feelings for you anymore and I never will, GET OVER ME."

"But I want you back!"

"Well I don't want YOU back."

"You're with someone new, aren't you?" he said. I looked at Shane.

"I don't believe that to be any of your business," I said, icily.

"What does he have that I don't?" He sounded offended.

"Josh. Fucking leave me alone."

"I made a mistake! Everyone does! Don't I deserve a second chance?"

"No! There'd be no point in my even _trying_ to give you a second chance seeing as I fucking hate you."

"You don't mean that."

"Oh I think I do," I said coldly.

"I can't stop loving you Mitchie."

"Well you're going to have to learn how. You're wasting my minutes." I said irritably, and turned my phone off.

"If you want me to kick his ass, I will," Shane grinned as I put my phone back into my bag.

"I know you would," I said, smiling. "But he's not worth it."

"Shane Gray, I never thought I'd see you around here anymore."

**Saturday, December 18  
****4:30 PM**

We looked up and saw a waitress standing there. She looked about Shane's age, had pale white skin and long, black hair tied up in a ponytail. She was lovely. I felt a pang of jealously sweep through me. I looked at Shane.

"Angell? You work here?" Shane said, standing up to hug her.

"Yep." she replied. "So what are you doing back home? Shouldn't you be in Japan or something?" she said, smiling.

"Family emergency... wow, so how are you?" Shane asked as if he couldn't believe he was talking to her. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"I'm okay. Gabe and I got engaged."

"Really? Congratulations!" he said, hugging her for the second time in their short reverie. At least she was engaged.

But, uh, _hello_? What about me?

"Thanks," she grinned, looking very pleased with herself.

"So how is Gabe?"

"Why don't you come by tonight and find out yourself? I'm making dinner for everyone. You know, Jake, Hoda, Tiffany, Marie, Indy..."

"Indy, huh?" Shane questioned, looking slightly crestfallen.

"Is that going to be a problem?" 'Angell' asked.

"Naw, I guess we'll swing by. This is Mitchie, by the way," he said, gesturing before me. Well FINALLY. Jeez.

"Nice to meet you," she said turning to me. Her expression quickly turned to shock once she saw me. "Oh my god..." I sighed. "Sorry," she said. "You just, reminded me of someone, sorry, I'm Angell, you should come," she said, smiling genuinely at me.

"She knows about Rose," Shane spoke up.

"Oh," Angell said. "Are you two...?"

"Yeah," Shane answered.

"Oh," she smiled. "Well, see you guys tonight then." She waved and walked off.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to take our-" Shane said, but she'd already disappeared.

"So," I said, turning to him. "Old friend?"

"Yeah."

"...and Indy is...?"

"Old girlfriend."

"Oh..." I said. It's not like I couldn't tell. Duh. "So why'd you guys break up?"

"She couldn't take the long distance... so we broke up."

"So if you weren't in Connect 3, you'd still be together?" I asked glumly.

"Does it make a difference?" he said.

"Just wondering..."

"It's all in the past, okay?" he smiled reassuringly, grabbing my hand and squeezing it in his.

"I know," I said.

"Are you sure you want to come tonight? You seem kind of..."

"No, I want to go. I want to meet your friends." I said. "Do you not want me to come?"

"No, I want you to come, I want you to meet everybody."

"Really?"

"Really."

"...and the Rose thing won't be weird?"

"Well it might be a little shocking... I mean, you do look a lot like her."

"So I've been told."

"But it's fine, don't worry."

"Cause if you don't want me to go…"

"I want you to go!"

"Are you sure?"

"Are you sure YOU want to go?"

"Yes."

"...and I'm sure I want you to go, okay?"

"Okay." And with that, Shane leaned over and kissed me.

"Silly girl." He whispered into my mouth. "Silly, beautiful girl."

**8:00 PM**

We were standing in front of Angell's house, waiting for someone to answer the door. Shane had rung the doorbell and the five chime that had sounded had momentarily silenced the talking and laughing we could hear from indoors.

I was interested to see 'Indy'. I wanted to know what kind of girls Shane had dated before me, so I was getting really excited.

I swear I'm a masochist.

I had to play it cool, though. If I seemed too interested then people would start getting suspicious and then Shane and I would get into a fight and the whole thing just wasn't necessary.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked me, squeezing my hand lightly.

"Yeah - why wouldn't I be?" I smiled up at him.

"I dunno - you're quiet," he shrugged. I was about to reply, but someone had opened the front door and we were bathed in the indoor warmth.

"Hey guys, come on in!" Angell said, practically jumping up and down. Wow, she was hyper. She's so cute. I trailed behind Shane who followed Angell into her house and into the living room.

"Shane!" A few of the people sitting there said as they saw him. Shane did that guy-shaking-hands-pat-on-the-back routine with the one and only guy who was there.

"Hey Hoda, Tiffany, Marie" Shane said, hugging them. "Indy," he hugged her too.

"...and this is Mitchie," Angell said. I just smiled somewhat awkwardly at everyone.

So.

That was Indy.

Indy had ivory skin and rosy pink cheeks. She had long dark blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. She was stick thin.

A toothpick.

And she was short too.

Like, me-short.

5'1?

That's pretty short.

She was gorgeous.

Damn.

"So are you two, like, together?" One of the girls, not Indy, asked. She wasn't accusing, just curious.

"Yeah they are, isn't it cute?" Angell answered, a grin lighting up her face. I caught Indy's expression, it fell.

Ha ha.

Suck it.

Ok, I'm being mean. She didn't technically do anything evil.

Yet.

"So, um, dinner will be ready soon, why don't you two just sit down?" Angell said gesturing towards the empty loveseat.

"We're just here for a little bit," Shane began.

"Aww, come on, stay!" Angell practically begged. "Come on, we haven't seen you in like a year and now you're in town again, stay for dinner!" she said. Shane looked at me.

Great, now it's my decision?

I shrugged. Ha, now it's his again. Shane nodded and pulled me over to a couch next to the other guy.

"Great!" Angell said. "I'll be right back; I just have to check on something..."

"So this is Jake," Shane said, introducing me to the guy. He grinned and high fived me. "That's Hoda, Marie, Tiffany and Indy," Shane said tilting his head to the girls sitting across from us.

"So you're Shane's new girlfriend?" Indy piped up. It wasn't in a snobby way; it was in a questioning way.

Hadn't Angell made that clear when I was asked that exact same question before?

"Um, yeah, I guess?" I shrugged.

"I don't know if he ever talks about me, but I'm his ex," Indy said.

"No, actually, you've never been the topic of discussion..." I said. Okay, this was getting awkward.

"So how old are you?"

"Um... 19. Why?"

"Wow, so you're right out of high school?"

"Yeah."

"So where do you go to college?"

"I don't, I'm taking the year off..." Why was she asking me these questions? And why wasn't anyone interfering here?

"So how'd you two meet?" Tiffany asked. Thank god, that Indy was starting to bother me...

"Why don't you take this one, Shane?" I said, turning to him. I was sick of questions. Indy hadn't taken her eyes off me all night.

"We met 5 years ago... she's Nate's cousin," Shane said.

"Aww... how cute!" Indy started up again. But by the tone of her voice, it sounded like she thought anything but. "So how long have you two been together?"

"Uh... I'm gonna go to the... umm... help Angell," I said, getting up and walking towards the kitchen. This was getting _way_ too awkward.

And personal.

What was her problem? And why wasn't Shane doing anything?

"Hey - just wanted to see if you needed any help?" I said, coming into the kitchen.

"Oh hey, actually, if you could just grab those knives for me," Angell said, stirring something on the stove, gesturing towards the knives with her head. "The dining room is just down the hall, just put them on the table."

"Sure," I said.

"Thanks," she called as I made my way to the dining room. I knew she said to just put them down, but it's like a weird OCD I have - I started to set them out at every seat. I felt someone walk in and come up behind me. I knew it had to be Shane. Finally, maybe he caught on...

"Are you okay?" Shane said, putting his hands on my shoulders. I turned around to face him. I was about to say something, but I didn't. I turned back and continued placing knives down. "Okay, I know Indy was making you feel uncomfortable, I guess," he said, following me.

"That doesn't even begin to describe what she was doing," I said, not looking up. "She was like, verbally attacking me! What is it her business if I'm only 19? And so what if I'm Nate's cousin? God, WHAT is her problem?" I said, now forcefully placing the knives down.

"You know why she's doing this..." Shane said.

"Yeah - and it's so pathetic!" I said. "She needs to get over you, okay?"

"Hey, you can't blame her now, it's me we're talking about," Shane said, grinning.

"Shane..."

"Okay, okay. If you want to leave, we can," he said, coming closer to me. He put his arms around my waist. I turned around and put my arms around his neck.

"No, it's fine..." I sighed. "But if she tries something, I'll snap that twig in two."

**The end of another chapter.  
****Did we like? Yes? No? Sex? Haha?  
****Reviewww!**

**Bree  
****xx**

**Oh, I got the name Indy from the ever-beautiful Indiana Evans staring at me from the magazine to my right. (Google Image)  
And this is my bestest friend, Angell : ****.com/images02/43/l_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry guys, I've been hell busy lately, so I haven't had time to update.**

This is just a short chapter – all I really had time to write. Umm, I'll maybe have BYAI up sometime this week – hopefully.

Thank you for being amazing, everyone :)

**Saturday, December 18**

**8:30 PM**

Shane smiled and locked his arms around my waist. He slowly backed me up against a wall, where he held me against it, pressing his body close against mine. He had a mischievous grin on that gorgeous face of his.

"We're in someone else's house," I said, trying to contain my giggling as I felt him grind into me. He was hard and we both knew it.

"So? No one's in here right now..." he said, bringing his lips down onto my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair, pushing his head to my neck.

"Shane..." I moaned, softly, as his warm lips found mine. "As much as I'd..." I started, but he kissed me again, this time running his tongue along my bottom lip. I grinned, parting by lips a bit. His tongue played with mine a bit before I had to break it off.

"Come on..." he begged.

"Later," I whispered. I placed a kiss on my fingers, then touched his lips with them and sauntered out of the dining room.

"Hey, wait for me," he said, coming after me like a little puppy.

My little puppy.

"Dinner's almost ready, I promise," Angell said, catching us in the hallway.

"So where's Gabe?" Shane said.

"Oh right, he called before you two got here, he's coming late, but I told him you'd stop by so he said he'd come as early as possible," Angell said, wiping her hands off on her jeans.

Twenty minutes later we found ourselves sitting around the dining room table (which I finished setting, by the way). We sat in this order: Angell (at one head of the table), Jake, myself, Shane, Hoda (at the opposite head), Indy, Tiffany then Marie.

"So, Mitchie, what are you planning to do instead of college?" Angell asked, twirling her salad in its dressing.

"Well first Shane and I are moving in together, and then I'll go looking for some kind of internship," I answered, shrugging. I caught Indy's reaction to the 'moving in with Shane' part, she had gripped her fork tightly and a little red rushed to her cheeks.

Oh, you heard that did you, sweetie?

"Aww, that's so cute!" Lisa gushed. "Where are you guys moving into?" Shane and I looked at each other.

"We don't know yet," Shane answered. "We haven't really had time to look for a place..." Everyone nodded and a silence lulled over the table.

"So how is life on the road then?" Jake asked. I could read Shane's expression - he didn't want the attention on him. He probably just wanted to talk about regular stuff, as if he was just like one of them.

"It gets exhausting," he admitted, shrugging a bit. Silence reared it's ugly head again. As if nobody had anything to say - was it because I was there? If I wasn't there would they have all treated him differently?

"So what about you and Gabe? When's the wedding?" Shane asked Angell, obviously trying to escape the spotlight.

"We're thinking of a summer wedding - well, I am, Gabe isn't really interested in details," she said, smiling, waving her hand about. "He said just tell him when and where and he'll be there." A few chuckles filled the room.

"Congratulations," I said quietly, realizing I had not yet done so. Angell smiled.

"So, Shane," Tiffany piped up. "Are you sticking around for the holidays?"

"Looks like," he said. "Most likely I'll - well, we'll be at my moms."

"I'm having a party for New Year's Eve, you guys should come by," Hoda said. "You know, if you want."

An hour in to the dinner, things finally started getting interested. The fact that alcohol was being downed by the bottle had much to do with it. By the time dinner was finished, the dining room had become the laugh factory - I wasn't even sure what I was laughing about, but man was it funny.

"How about a little truth or dare?" Angell suggested, leading us back into the living room.

"What are we, fifteen?" Jake chuckled.

"Hey now, Mitchie might get offended-" Indy said. I glared at her briefly. Shane just squeezed my hand tightly.

"Truth or dare sounds like fun," Tiffany said. We all piled into the living room, spreading ourselves out amongst the various couches and chairs.

"Mitchie should go first - being the most guestliest guest," Angell announced. I shrugged.

"Uh... Marie, truth or dare?"

"Mm... truth!" and then I realized, I couldn't think of one question that didn't seem out of line - I mean, I wasn't exactly a close friend of hers or anything so it didn't seem right to ask her sex questions... but no other topic was interesting!

"Uh...what's your guiltiest pleasure?" Even though I was looking at Shane when I asked this. He knew what I was thinking and just shook his head as if he pitied me or something, for not surrendering to the force that is, peeing in the shower.

"Sleeping in the nude," she replied simply, as if she talked about it often.

"Hey, Marie, watsup?" Jake scooted closer, slipping an arm around her shoulder, grinning upon hearing her statement. She just shook her head and removed his arm from her.

"My turn," Marie said. "Indy! Truth or dare?"

"Dare," she said aggressively, diverting her eyes to me for a split second.

"I dare you to... uh... flash Jake." Jake's smile grew wide instantly as Indy sighed. She got up and quickly raised her top, pulling it down instantaneously.

"Hey I didn't get a good-" Jake began complaining.

"Mitchie," Indy cut him off. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," I mumbled quickly.

"Okay. Name all the guys you've ever slept with." All eyes were now on me. I think I started sweating, even though I had nothing to hide.

"Shane," I said. Her face quickly became pale. That wasn't entirely true, but this was awkward. I wanted to change the subject quickly so I took my turn again right away, "Truth or dare, Shane?" I said, turning to him.

"Dare," he said. I was thinking of what to Dare him to do when suddenly we heard the front door open and a few male voices circled the hall.

"Angell, I'm home!" We heard one call, probably Gabe. "Hope you don't mind, brought some friends!" he called again.

"Gabe?" She said, getting up.

"Where are you?" He said, searching the halls. "Oh hey!" He said, meeting her at the entrance to the living room. He gave her a long, deep kiss and waved to everyone else - that's when he spotted Shane. "Shane Gray!" He said, coming over to him. Shane stood up and they gave each other massive hugs. "I didn't know you were in town!"

"I wasn't expecting to be," he started to explain.

"Who's your friend?" he said, turning towards me. "Hi, I'm Gabe." he said, shaking my hand as I stood up.

"I'm Mitchie," I smiled.

"She's my girlfriend." Shane said, slipping his arm around my neck. Gabe grinned and whispered something into Shane's ear. Then Shane replied, also grinning, "Yeah man, I know."

"You met everyone probably right?" Gabe said. "Hey guys, come in here!" he called to his buddies who were now entering the room. I looked up at them.

"Josh?"

**Saturday, December 18**

**10:00 PM**

"Mitchie? Oh my god, I can't believe you're here," Josh said, coming up to me. He tried to hug me, but I pushed him away.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I said, stepping back.

"You two know each other?" Gabe said, intervening.

"Unfortunately..." I replied.

"Mitchie, come on, I miss you!" Josh said, trying to get close again.

"I don't care!" I threw my arms up.

"You know you love me, let's just - start over," Josh said. I think my eyes were about to bulge out of my sockets at this point.

"Oh my fucking GOD, Josh, first you cheat on me, then you call me every day, practically stalking me, then, after numerous times of me telling you to leave me alone, you have the audacity to pretend like nothing happened? What is the MATTER with you?"

"Can we maybe do this in private?" Josh said.

"No." I said, putting my foot down.

"We'll be in the other room," Angell said nervously, pulling Gabe away. The rest also stood up.

"Shane, stay," I said, grabbing his hand before he even got a chance to even consider leaving.

"Oh, so you're with him, now?" Josh said.

"Yeah, I'm with him now," I said, mimicking his tone. "So you need to leave me the fuck alone," I spat, acidly.

"He'll never love you as much as I do," Josh began.

"Oh, give me a BREAK," I said, rolling my eyes. "If you loved me, you wouldn't be in this position right now."

"I made a mistake!"

"Boo fucking hoo, Josh! I don't love you! GET OVER IT!" Suddenly Josh's sad, grovelling expression turned to angry and bitter.

"You're a fucking slut, you know that?" he said, and turned around, beginning to walk away.

"Wanna say that a little louder?" Shane said, stepping forward.

"Shane, don't worry about it, its fine," I said, tugging his arm back towards me.

"No, it's not," Shane said. Josh turned around.

"You got a problem, asshole?" Josh said. True, he towered over Shane a few inches, but I didn't think it mattered.

"Yeah I got a problem, apologize!" Josh just laughed. "I'm sorry, did I say something funny? Do I have to repeat myself for you?" Shane said.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," Josh said.

"Ask me if I care," Shane replied.

"Not even if I do this?" Josh said and punched Shane in the stomach. I shrieked. Shane stood up and sucker punched Josh in the jaw.

"Oh my god, you guys, STOP!" I said, contemplating whether I should physically jump in between or not. Josh then grabbed Shane by the collar and pushed him up against the wall, Shane took this opportunity to knee him in the groin, sending massive waves of pain throughout Josh's lower body. Josh keeled over in pain, gasping for breath. Shane stood over him and glared down.

"Apologize," he breathed. Josh slowly stood up and looked at the two of us. Unexpectedly, he raised his fist and punched Shane in the mouth.

DAMNIT! Just when his lip looked normal again (from that camping incident with Natie...)

"Shane!" I yelped, who was now cupping his mouth. Where was everybody else? Didn't they hear what was going on? I ran over to him and grabbed his face with my hands. "Oh my god."

"Step back," Shane told me.

"Shane don't-"

"Step BACK," he repeated a bit more aggressively this time. Slowly, I did, trembling a bit. He paused for a few seconds and then charged at Josh, grabbing his arm and forcing it into an unnatural position behind his back. Josh winced in pain, and tried to kick Shane, who moved his legs so that Josh couldn't move his.

"I'm only going to say this one more time," Shane said. "APOLOGIZE." Josh coughed first, but then I think he tried to say something.

"S-so-so-sorry," Josh barely managed to get out. I looked at Shane who was looking at me now. I had tear-stained cheeks. I didn't know if I was happy or sad, and if either, for who? Shane let go of Josh disgustedly and walked over to me.

"Are you okay?" he said, holding his arms out.

"Me? Are YOU okay?" I asked, placing my hands on his hips and standing on my tip toes so I could check out his lip.

Man, it was busted.

"I'll be fine..." he said. "So that's Josh, hey?" Shane said, almost laughing even. I smiled.

"Yeah. That's Josh."

"Man, what a pussy." he said, smiling. "Way to be obsessive."

"You can't blame him though, remember?" I said, "It's me we're talking about," I smiled as I used one of Shane's self-promoting lines. Shane laughed. "Wait here," I said. I went over to my bag which was sitting on the couch across the hall and returned quickly with a blue bandana. I folded it and pressed it against his lip.

"You still have this?" Shane said.

"Yep. I like to carry it around with me sometimes," I said, smiling. I looked over to see Josh still on the floor, alternating between nursing his arm and his balls. I don't think he had the strength to get up. "Hey Shane?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," I said and kissed him on the cheek. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his tightly. "You didn't have to do that for me," I whispered in his ear. Shane wrapped his free hand around my waist and held me tight.

"On the contrary, I did. No one messes with my girlfriend," Shane grinned down at me.

"Love you," I whispered, burying my head in his chest.

"You wanna get out of here?" he said. I nodded, letting go. Hand in hand, we went into the other room where everyone had retreated to at the time of the altercation. Silence rolled over them once we walked in.

"Sorry," I began, pointing my thumb back in the other room.

"So thanks for dinner," Shane said, "But we're going to jet." Angell nodded standing up.

"It was good to see you again," she said, hugging him quickly. "Come back, okay?" she said earnestly. Shane nodded. He said his goodbyes to everyone else and we left. Just as we were getting in the car, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" he said. Suddenly, Shane's face became sheet white. He was trembling.

"What's wrong?" I said, coming over to his side of the car. He froze. He didn't say or do anything. "Shane, what happened?"

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.**

I'm a bitch for cutting it off here. I'm well aware :) Who doesn't like a jealousy fight though? Haha.

Reviews? Please? I'll give you candy :D

Bree  
xx


	10. Chapter 10

**Another chapter up so soon! Well, soon for me anyway :D**

**I'd like to thank all of you for reviewing. Keep it up!**

**Saturday, December 18**

**10:30 PM**

"Shane, baby, tell me what's wrong?" I asked him, extremely worried. He didn't say anything, but I think he was trying to put some words together. His mouth was opening and closing wordlessly. "Was it your mom? Is your dad..." I couldn't even say it. Shane managed to shake his head. I was a bit relieved.

"My mom..." he finally said. I froze. "She... she... and the doctor called... and now her..." He was shaking. Violent convulsions ripped through him. I pressed myself closer to him and wrapped my arms around his trembling torso.

"What's going on with your mom?" I said, stroking some hair out of his face.

"Collapsed... she collapsed..." he finally choked out.

"Oh, Shane," I said, embracing him. He buried his face in my neck and began to cry.

Aww!

Poor baby!

I think I might just cry right here with him!

"Shh... baby, don't cry. We'll go to the hospital, okay?" I said, stroking his head softly. "You have to be strong, for both of your parents okay?" I whispered. He nodded weakly. "Okay, give me your keys," He stuck his hand in his pocket and dug around for a few seconds before pulling them out. Before doing anything else, I watched him slowly make his way around to the other side of the car and get in. He wasn't crying anymore but his expression was dead, resigned, almost. It was scary. I sighed, getting in. The first minute or so was silent.

"Mitchie?" I heard him say weakly, quietly.

"Yeah?" I turned to look at him. He looked at me, but he didn't say anything. He looked down. I half smiled, rubbing his shoulder. "When we get there I'll call the guys, okay? They'll come home," I promised. Shane just nodded - I think. It was more like a half-nod. Maybe he wasn't even responding to what I had said.

**10:50 PM**

When we arrived at the hospital, Shane's attitude changed from blank and depressed to just plain angry. I tried to keep up with his rapid pace into the building and towards the elevator. He didn't say anything, but he had eyes of fire. He looked just about ready to kill someone. When we stepped out onto the floor, Shane made a mad dash to the receptionist.

"Dr. Alderman called me? About my mother, Sarah Gray? She collapsed? Where is she? Where is he? What happened? What's going to happen? I'm Shane by the way, her son. And how is my dad? Adam Gray? Did he wake up?" Shane said all in one breath. The receptionist's face was priceless. It looked like she herself was about to collapse, luckily, she didn't have to respond because the doctor intervened.

"Mr. Gray, I'm Dr. Alderman, your mother's doctor, we spoke on the phone?" he said. Shane looked up, nodding madly. "It seems as though your mother has collapsed most likely under pressure; stress. She's resting right now and she's going to be fine, but you have to make sure she is stress free for the next few weeks. Can you do that or should we call some other relatives?"

"When can she leave?" Was the first thing Shane asked.

"Probably in a few days. I'd say four or five," he nodded.

"But before Christmas, right? Christmas is her favourite holiday, she can't spend it here," Shane said.

Aww, that was cute, and I didn't want to ruin his thoughtfulness so I didn't mention the fact that she might've had to anyway because of his father.

"Most likely she can go home before then, but she can't stay here all day once she is released," he warned.

"I'll call my sister," Shane said, not really talking to anyone, just himself.

His sister?

He has a sister?

Oh yeah... now I remember.

He has a sister.

I've never met her but I remember him mentioning her or Nate or someone.

Wait a minute, how come she wasn't here for her father? How come Shane flew around the world to be here, but she, who was probably in the country, did not? I think Shane read my thoughts because he said,

"She's on her honeymoon, my mom didn't want to ruin it for her unless you know, my dad... you know," Shane trailed off, pulling out his cell phone. "But I can't do this alone, I need her to be here," he said, dialling. I nodded.

"I'm going to call Nate," I said, pulling out my own phone, he nodded. I dialled his number and waited.

"Hey Mitchie, what's going on? How's Shane? How's his dad?" Nate asked.

"Not good... his mom collapsed so now she's a patient too. You guys should come back, he needs you here. He's a mess," I said quietly so that Shane wouldn't hear me, even though he was a good few yards away.

"We'll come. Jason's going to see if any flights tonight are still open."

"Don't forget James Bond, you've been feeding him and stuff, right?" I asked warily.

"Uh... right..."

"Nathan!"

"Just kidding, of course we have. Man, Jason LOVES that dog he won't leave it alone," he chuckled.

"Also," I said, "The concert tickets, I left them there in case you guys wouldn't have to come back, but I guess you can sell them since you are. I left them on the counter in the bedroom, okay?"

"Okay."

"Thanks, Nate. He'll appreciate this."

"Anything for him."

**1:30 AM**

Shane's sister was in the Caribbean and she was supposed to be back tomorrow night, or tonight I guess since it was in the AM now. The guys booked a flight that was supposed to take off in a few hours, so they'd be here probably around this time tomorrow.

Shane's dad was still in a coma. He didn't want me to leave him so we spent the night in chairs in his mom's hospital room. I made sure not to go to sleep until he did - I didn't want him to feel alone, even though I was extremely tired. I felt so bad for this poor guy, first Rose, now his parents. He didn't deserve this; he was such a good, light-hearted person. It broke my own heart to see him like this.

"Go to sleep," Shane whispered. I looked up at him, his elbows were rested on his knees, and he was hunched over, but his head was turned towards me.

"Don't worry about me," I whispered back.

"But you look so tired," he fought. I smiled.

"Baby, I'm fine, really." I assured him.

"Mitchie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared. Don't tell anyone."

**December 23**

**5:00 PM**

All the guys came in and so did Shane's sister. The past few days had been hectic, but Shane's mother's condition improved and was released, so she was at home, resting. I spent one night at Nate's place and the rest in the hospital room with Shane and his sister. His sister, Katie, was at the hospital, sitting by her dad's side and Shane and I were at his mom's house, helping her decorate for Christmas. He and I were sitting on the floor in the living room for the past hour or so, rummaging through boxes of ornaments and decorations.

"Aww, Shane!" I said, lifting out a red stocking with his name printed on it. "This is adorable!" He shrugged, blushing a bit. I also pulled out a Santa hat and placed it firmly on Shane's head. "Hey, don't be sad," I said, scooting closer to him. I kissed his cheek and placed my head on his shoulder.

"Sorry it's just-"

"I know," I said. "But when you're sad, I'm sad." Shane placed his arm around my shoulder and rested his head on mine. The phone rang interrupting our moment.

"I got it mom, don't get up!" Shane called from his position on the floor. He reached over with his other arm and grabbed the phone that was lying under a pile of boxes.

"Hello? Katie, what's the news?" He paused for a few seconds and then it happened. A mammoth grin appeared on this boy's face. The first one I'd seen there in over a week! I was so happy for him. "Yeah we're coming now, bye!" Shane said and hung up. He didn't even say anything; he just reached over and tackled me with a massive hug.

"He woke up, didn't he?" I said from under Shane. Shane nodded madly and kissed my lips hard.

"It's a Christmas Eve eve miracle!" He exclaimed, finally giving me some breathing room.

Not that I minded before or anything...

"MOM!" he yelled, getting up. "MOM, DAD'S AWAKE! HE WOKE UP!" he said, dashing out of the room. I sat there, watching him go, grinning. I felt so happy and excited for him, especially now that the holidays would really feel like the holidays. I stood up and brushed my self off, heading into the kitchen where Shane and his mom were hugging. "Come on, let's go!" He grinned excitedly.

**9:00 PM**

Everyone was at the hospital; all five guys, me, Katie, her new husband Alex, and Shane's mom. Shane, Katie and his mom had gone in to the room while the rest of sat in the lobby, the air feeling the mix of excitement and relief.

We had been there for nearly four hours, but it didn't matter - this whole ugly thing was behind us and just in time for Christmas too. Although Shane's dad would have to spend Christmas in the hospital to recoup, at least now Shane wouldn't be depressed, and everyone would know he was okay. It truly was a Christmas Eve eve miracle. Mrs. G had to go home to rest, so Katie and Alex opted to take her so Shane could spend more time with his dad. Jason and Andy also went home to spend some time with their families now that they knew everything would be okay. Nate, Shaun and I stayed.

"Are you spending the night at Shaun's?" Nate asked me, as we waited in the lobby.

"Hey, I could get into that..." Shaun said, wiggling his eyebrows. Nate glared at him, he knew what he meant. "Kidding..."

"I dunno," I shrugged. "I want to wait for Shane, whatever he wants." Nate nodded and leaned back, yawning.

"My mom invited you to Christmas at our house," Nate said.

"I know, tell her thanks," I said. "Shane's mom also invited me for dinner tomorrow night,"

"Oh."

"Hey, that doesn't mean I'll go," I said.

"But you want to."

"It's Christmas, Nate, I want to spend it with my family."

"If you say so..."

"Don't be like that,"

"Like what?"

"You know what."

"Do you not want me to come?"

"Don't put this on me."

"You know what? If you're going to be like this then I won't go."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"You already said fine," Shaun piped in.

"Shaun!"

"Sorry."

**11:00 PM**

Shaun eventually went home, but Nate stayed. We didn't talk. Finally, Shane came out, still smiling with colour in his cheeks.

"Everyone else left?" Shane said, looking around. We nodded.

"Aright, well, I'm going to jet, you taking her home?" Nate said, doing that guy hug thing with Shane. Shane nodded. "Later."

"Thanks, Nate." Shane called as he walked away. Nate waved, without turning around. Shane turned to me. "Hungry?"

"A little," I admitted.

"I'm starving. Let's get some food," he suggested, grabbing my hand. We left the hospital and drove to a McDonalds a few miles away. "You know I use to work here?" He said, pulling up to the drive-thru window. I smiled, shaking my head.

"What are you in the mood for?" Shane asked.

"Um… fries..." I mumbled, looking out the other window.

What did Nate mean when he said, 'If you say so'?

Didn't he believe me?

He didn't believe me!

I don't believe this.

Then what did he think I wanted to do?

This was impossible. Nate and his stupid head.

I think I shall call him later. In fact, I absolutely shall call him later.

"Hello?" I suddenly heard. I looked back at Shane.

"Huh? What?"

"I asked you four times if you wanted a drink."

"Oh, uh, no, thanks," I smiled, shaking my head. A minute later, after we drove off with the food.

Shane looked over at me. "Are you okay baby?" I shrugged.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I dunno. Nate and I had a fight and… I don't know," I said, looking back out the window. Shane brushed his thumb along my hand and then held it softly. I looked up at him and saw him smile. That made me smile. "Hey-" I said. "Now that Shaun is back, do you want to spend the night at my house?"

**December 23**

**11:25 PM**

When we arrived at my house, I gave Shane a tour, but he didn't seem too excited until we got upstairs, more specifically, to my room. I turned the knob and pushed open my door. If you haven't figured it out already, I'll tell you.

I'm girly.

So don't you think my room should reflect my personality?

Well, it does. In fact, my room is the epitome of stereotypical girlyness. I have pink walls, lots of pillows, a huge assortment of makeup products on my dresser, a furry pink rug, stuffed animals EVERYWHERE, and posters of hotties taped everywhere. This all started when I was about fourteen, and since then I kind of just added onto my room to make it at the level of girlyosity it is now. Normally there would be clothes everywhere, but since everything was packed and at Shaun's, my carpet was visible.

"Hey your shirt matches my room," I said, pulling him in. He looked down at his pink t-shirt.

"Oh yeah it does..." he smiled, tugging at it lightly.

"Do you want to go to bed?" I asked. "We don't have to go to sleep or anything, unless you want to, I mean we could and all, or we could talk, or we could-" I said all at once.

"Bed sounds good," he said, smiling as he cut me off. I looked over at my bed. It was a pathetic twin size.

"We won't fit," I stated.

"That's okay, I can sleep on the floor," he offered.

"How about we sleep on the floor together?" I said, coming up to him.

"Are you sure? Cause-"

"Yes!" I said, smiling. "Besides, sleeping on the floor is good for your back." I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my face just inches away from his. "I'm going to go change," I whispered. I then pressed my lips onto his in a longing, deep kiss, most definitely leaving him breathless as I headed over to my dresser drawers. I pulled out a fresh underwear sleepwear set and went into my closet to change. I came out with a robe on; I could tell by his expression that Shane was disappointed.

"Do you want me to get some more like blankets and stuff?" He asked me.

"I'll get them," I said. "You can change I guess -- or just take off your clothes, same difference," I found myself rambling. He smirked. I rolled my eyes and left my room to go down the hallway. I opened the linen closet and pulled out some extra sheets. I came back in and found a shirtless and pantsless Shane.

:DROOL:

He had his striped boxers on again.

Curious.

VERY curious.

He grabbed the corners of the sheets and comforters and helped me lay them down on the carpet. He slid under them, sitting up. I turned around and took my robe off, I don't know why - he's seen me naked. We took a shower together for christsake. I turned back around and slipped underneath. We were lying facing each other, our faces inches apart. I felt Shane's hands move underneath the covers, searching for mine. He found them and squeezed them tight.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, after a few minutes of us just smiling at each other.

"I'm thinking about how I can't wait 'till we move in together." I smiled -- I mean, I was already smiling, but now wider, and my cheeks got red. "What are you thinking about?"

"A month ago, when Nate called me, - I was just a silly girl with a stupid crush - now I'm back here - but you're here too."

"You had a crush on me?"

"I said I had a crush, don't be so egotistical, it doesn't mean it was on you," I poked my tongue out. He playfully glared at me. "Just kidding, of course it was on you. Remember, it's you we're talking about?" He grinned.

"Exactly," he agreed.

"How's your lip?" I asked, referring back to when A-hole punched him. It looked better - it wasn't as swollen and the regular colour started to come back.

"Mmmm... it's kissable..." He decided, scooting closer with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Kissable, huh?"

"Mmhmm. Kissable, lickable, biteab- well actually, not so much biteable, that might hurt," he thought out loud. I grinned, also scooting closer. We were now impossibly close to each other. Or noses were touching.

"Eskimo kisses," I commented. He scrunched his nose up a bit and I giggled.

His hands slowly travelled their way down to my hips and he pressed them against him, forcing his lips on mine. I slowly locked my legs around him and rolled us over so that I was lying on top of him, as his tongue slipped in my mouth. His hands ran up and down my back and then slowly crept down to my thighs. He then carefully flipped us over so that he was on top of me, our lips never parting. He massaged the sides of my stomach with his fingertips, tracing a pattern to the hem of my panties. He slipped his thumbs in the sides and I knew where we were going next. I wanted to - honestly, but I couldn't take another chance, we didn't have a condom. "Shane..." I moaned sliding my hands down his arms to his hands. "We can't."

"What's the matter?" he said, in between two deep kisses.

"We don't have a..." I whispered. "a... protection." He lifted his head and looked deep into my eyes for a moment, and then kissed me passionately once more, before finally resting his head in the crook of my neck.

"Okay," he whispered. I wrapped both arms around him and squeezed him tight.

"My teddy bear," I said. "Mine. All mine. I'm not sharing." After a few minutes of lying silently like that, he slipped out from under my grasp and pulled me towards him so we would be spooning. His arm around my waist was secure and firm.

"My evil glue stick," he chuckled, kissing my forehead. With that, we fell asleep. Ah, how romantic.


	11. Chapter 11

**:)**

**So, I have nothing of real interest to say at the moment, so on with the chapter!**

* * *

**December 24  
10:00 AM**

I woke up naturally, and found that Shane was still asleep – at least I thought so anyway. His arm was still just as tight around my waist, so I couldn't move - not that I wanted too. Maybe he was awake, and thought I was too when I stirred, because he began whispering cute little nothings in my ear, that made me smile. I slowly turned around and found that he was in fact, awake. His beautiful eyes were staring back at me - he was smiling. I looked down at his lips and brought mine close to his. I pressed my lips against his and held it there for a long time. When I finally retreated, I whispered,

"Happy Christmas Eve day." He smiled and kissed me just the same.

We took a shower short shower together, ate breakfast and then drove over to Shane's mom's house to help her start preparing for dinner. We spent almost all day there, cooking and decorating.

A few hours before dinner, Shane and I went back to his place to get our presents and deliver them to all the guys who were spending Christmas with their families. When we got to Nate's, I didn't go in. I knew it was rude, because I was really only mad at Nate, and not his parents, but I didn't want to look at him.

I gave Shane the present and told him to give it to him for me. Shane returned with a present for me from them. That kind of made me feel worse for staying in the car.

"Hey Mitchie?" Shane asked, as we drove back to his mom's.

"Hmm?"

"What did you and Nate get into a fight about?"

"Why?" I said, defensively. I didn't mean to sound so mean, but I didn't want to tell him because I was sure it would make him feel bad.

"I... sorry," he said, quietly. "It's just; he was kind of an asshole to me when I gave him the present."

"Nate's kind of an asshole a lot lately," I muttered.

"Is it because you're spending Christmas with me and not him?" Shane asked. I quickly turned to face him. I opened my mouth to answer - but I didn't want to tell him - and I couldn't lie - so I just shut my mouth, facing the window.

"He thinks-" I began, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to finish. "He thinks we spend too much time together."

Silence.

"Maybe he's right."

???

!!!

"What?" I almost choked, turning back to him. Shane shrugged. "I was at the hospital all the time because I thought you wanted me there!"

"I know, and I did, but-"

"It's Christmas Eve," I said, dramatically at that.

"I know, it's just-"

"If you don't want me there, just say so!"

"CAN I FINISH A SENTENCE, PLEASE?!" He burst. I jumped in my seat a bit with my eyes shut. When I opened them, a tear slid down one cheek, but I quickly wiped it away. I don't think he saw. "I know you," he said. "When we're together, you're not thinking about yourself and your future, and I mean like a real future with a job and a plan, not moving in with me. After the holidays we're going on tour again and I can't be here, what are you going to do?"

I knew he was right, but at the time, in the moment, I wasn't rationally taking in what he was saying. I was still being pissy about how this happened on Christmas Eve, given how my holiday plans have been jerked around so much; first my parents, then Australia, then the hospital, then Shane's moms and now back home alone where it was meant to be all along.

"Take me home," I said quietly.

"I didn't mean-"

"Take me home," I repeated.

"I don't want you to be alone!"

"Well you don't want to spend Christmas with me, and right now, I don't want to spend it with you."

"That's not true,"

"Do I have to say it again? Or should I just get out right here?" I reached for the doorhandle, but Shane flicked the locks and the disappeared from sight.

"Why do you always run from your problems?"

"Wait a minute, so now we're a problem?"

"Well apparently so!"

"I don't run from my problems!" I exclaimed. "They run from me. First my parents, then Nate, now you."

"I'm not running-" he began, but I didn't even interrupt him, he stopped on his own. The rest of the ride was silent; he pulled up to my house and unlocked the doors.

"Tell your mom sorry," I muttered and quickly got out of the car. I ran up to my door and unlocked it, going in. I slammed it shut, and slid down against it, burying my face in my hands.

**  
December 24  
****5:30 PM**

It had probably been ten or fifteen minutes that I sat there, my silent whimpers had turned into bawling. That's when my phone rang. What was the matter with Shane? Did he think I was ACTUALLY going to talk to him right now? My anger towards him burned inside, so instead of just letting it ring, I was going to pick it up, say something evil, and than hang up.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" I practically shouted.

"Mitchie?"

"Jason?" Jason? Why was Jason calling me? "Sorry - I thought you were someone else,"

"Are you okay? You sound like you were crying,"

"Oh... well I was, I mean I wasn't, I- um, did you need something?"

"I wanted to know where you were, or are, I wanted to give you my present, are you sure you're okay?" I didn't really want to tell him about the fight, but I also didn't really want to lie. Finding a happy medium was hard.

"I'm just upset right now," I said. Hey, that wasn't a lie. It wasn't the WHOLE truth, but he didn't ask for it, so technically I am just.

"Are you alone? Is Shane around?"

"No!" I quickly spat. "Shane isn't here,"

"Well, I'll come over then, I want to give you your present anyway, I'll see you in a few," he said happily, clicking his phone shut. I didn't have time to object, and at least I wouldn't be lonely for a little bit. It couldn't hurt.

"Bye," I said into the phone, a couple of seconds after he had hung up. I stood up straight and checked the window - Shane had left already. I made my way to the bathroom to wash my face.

How could Shane agree with Nate? He thinks we spend too much time together?

When?

When he's off doing band stuff?

Or when he's able to squeeze five minutes in for me between his 20-hour working schedule?

Oh yes, I really see how his logic works.

Sense the sarcasm.

And what's more, it's CHRISTMAS! Aren't you supposed to spend the holidays with the people you care about? Christmas is not only the holiday of all holidays, but... come on, it's CHRISTMAS.

CHRISTMAS.

C H R I S T M A S!

And what's more, I spent all day helping his mom make dinner. I hope he chokes on it.

Not really.

Well, maybe just a little.

Halfway through my thought train, the doorbell went off. That was fast.

I went to answer the door and found that it wasn't Jason - but it was my neighbour. A girl, about my age, stood there cheerily, smiling brightly. Obviously she didn't notice that I looked like shit.

"This is from us, Merry Christmas!" she said, holding out a cherry pie.

"Oh, sorry," I said. "I didn't know you were coming, I don't have anything for you guys, but thanks." I said, as she handed it to me.

"No problem, bye!" She said, and skipped, yes skipped, away. Just as she did I saw Jason pull up in his car.

How did he know where I lived? I don't think he's ever been here before. I stood in the doorway, waiting for him to approach. He quickly got out of his car and came up to the doorway.

"Hey," he said, sympathetically, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a grim smile. "Here, Merry Christmas," he said, shoving a bouquet of lilies in my face. "Sorry, I'm not that creative when it comes to gifts," he scratched his head and shrugged.

"No, I love them," I said truthfully, but still trying to force a smile. "...and the photo album you gave me for my birthday - that was beautiful," I said, setting them down on the mini-coffee table on the side.

"I guess I should confess - it wasn't my idea, Shane picked it out," he blushed.

GRRR. One of the best presents I've ever fucking received and it was his idea.

I think those feelings showed on my face right then.

"Uhh... here," I said, grabbing the cherry pie. "Merry Christmas." He smiled taking it.

"Thanks." So I regift sometimes, so what? Plus, it's not like I had anyone to eat it with, so why not just give it to someone who loves pie. "Hey, um, do you want me to stay a little? Are you alone?" he said. "We could split the pie," I looked up.

The pros: I wouldn't be alone, I'd have someone to talk to, pie is involved.

The cons: Alone with another guy?

What am I talking about? It's Jason for fucks sake. Okay, so that con doesn't count.

"Okay," I said, smiling weakly as I shut the door. He followed me into the kitchen and sat down on one of the bar/counter stools as I grabbed two forks. The first few minutes were pretty quiet. Just the sound of chewing filled the otherwise empty kitchen.

"You can tell me what's wrong, if you want," he said, looking up at me, his eyes searching mine for the emotions I kept bottled up. "I'm a good listener." I forced another smile and shrugged.

"It's Christmas and I have to spend it here - alone, miserable,"

"What about Shane?"

"Shane isn't here for a reason," I quickly said.

"Oh..." I think he got the point. "But you guys didn't-"

"No," I said. "At least I don't think we did, no, we definitely didn't break up." I shook my head, personally and truly afraid of the thought.

"Hey, but it's Christmas, whatever it is I'm sure if you two just sit down together and talk, you could work it out,"

"That's where you're wrong," I stated. "You see, being together would worsen the situation, being together, is the problem." I said, this time forcefully forking the pie.

"Is that what he said?"

"Yes," I admitted reluctantly.

"That's got to be bullshit, he's crazy about you," Jason began.

"He's definitely crazy..." I mumbled.

"Maybe he's scared,"

"Of what? Of spending too much time with his girlfriend? We're about to MOVE IN together, what does he think he's getting himself into? " I exclaimed, shoving the fork quite forcefully into the pie.

"I think he's scared that-"

"You know what? It doesn't even matter," I said, throwing my hands up and effectively throwing the pie that was on the end of my fork into the wall. "I'm tired of other people telling me how he feels, I mean, I know you're only trying to help, but I'm sorry to inform you that you're not in our relationship - he wants to spend time apart, well now he can, he'll be stuffing himself and singing Christmas songs with his family and I'll be in my bed, sulking," I ranted.

"Should I even ask what about Nate?" he said, changing the subject. I glared at him, not really at him as much as at Nate, but since Nate wasn't there and he was, well I glared at him. "Right, got it," he said, nodding. "Well - you can always come over to my house, my and Andy's family do Christmas every year together, so if you get bored of me, well, he'll be there," Jason offered with a hopeful smile.

"Thanks," I shook my head. "But I don't think it's such a good idea," I shrugged.

"Aww, come on, a little turkey never hurt anybody!" he said. "Just come for dinner, then if you want, I'll drive you back here and you can sulk," he stood up and placed our forks in the sink and the pie in the fridge.

"I'd be imposing, I can't-"

"No, you won't, come on," he said, walking back to me and grabbing my hand. "My parents love you!"

"Your parents don't know me."

"Right, well, they know Nate and they LOVE Nate, so they'll definitely love you," he said. "Same with Andy's,"

"I don't know... what if Shane calls? I won't be here to pick up the phone and then he'll get worried and then-"

"See, you do care about him,"

"I never said I didn't,"

"Well then show him there's nothing to be scared of, call him." Jason said, grabbing the phone. He held it towards me.

**  
December 24  
****5:45 PM**

I looked at the phone, and then back at Jason, and then back at the phone in his hand, and then at him again.

"I- I can't," I stammered.

"I know Shane, right now, he's probably deciding if he should call you himself," Jason said. "You can do it,"

"No, Jason, I can't." I repeated. "Shane wants to spend time apart, let him have what he wants."

"Are you sure you have his story together? He wouldn't just want you to be apart, especially on Christmas Eve," Jason reasoned.

"He said I need to think about my future... like he's my fucking father or something," I muttered.

"He said that?" He questioned. I nodded, wiping the lone tear that trickled away.

"Well you know what that means,"

"No, actually, I don't."

"He's only doing this because he cares, you're misinterpreting his feelings - he can't control that, but you're not giving him a chance to explain,"

"Are you wired?" I said, standing up. "Is he telling you what to say right now? Lemme see your ear," I said, going over to him.

"Hey, hey!" He said, stepping back, laughing. "Just listen to me," he put his hands on my shoulders. "He definitely didn't want you to not be with him at Christmas and now you're not, so he's probably really upset and this whole thing would go away if you just called him," Jason said, picking up the phone again.

Again, I looked at the phone, and then back at Jason. I slowly took it from him and dialled Shane's number, bringing the phone up to my ear. Jason smiled.

"Hey, it's Shane, leave a message." I heard on the other end. I pressed the disconnect button and chewed on the antenna.

"His phone isn't on," I concluded out loud.

"So leave a message, tell him to call you," Jason said, making a pushing gesture with his hands. I contemplated the matter, but then shrugged, picking up the phone again. I pressed the redial button and waited.

"Hello?" I think I almost choked. He picked up! "Hello?" I froze, only seeing Jason's confused expression staring back at me. "Helloooo? Who is this?" I opened my mouth, but I couldn't make any sounds. I hastily hung up and set it down on the counter.

"What happened?" Jason said, watching my every move.

"He- he picked up," I said, breathing heavily. Oh god, I was acting like a girl at a sleepover that was dared to call up some boy. I didn't even know WHY I was acting this way.

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I- uh, I don't know," I said. Suddenly the phone rang; Jason and I both looked at it, knowing it had to be Shane.

"Aren't you going to pick it up?"

"No - no I can't, you pick it up," I said, moving it towards his side of the counter. He looked at me strangely but rolled his eyes, answering the phone.

"Hello? -- Yeah, hey Shane. -- Uh yeah, that was me, right, right, the power of *69, -- Uh, why'd I call? Uh...--" Jason looked at me for an answer but all I could do was raise my arms up in question.

Suddenly his expression changed from dumbfounded to just plain annoyed. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm at Mitchie's house right now, she wants you to come over but she didn't want to ask you because it was Christmas Eve and she was being stupid."

First I hit Jason's arm, and then I took the time to convey a very nasty, threatening glare at him for saying those things. "Okay, see you soon." He said and hung up.

"JASON!" I screamed.

"It's CHRISTMAS!" He exploded. "GIVE IT UP! Just LISTEN to him!" I stood back, sort of shielding my face with myself with my arms. A few more tears escaped the creases of my eyelids, as I stood there silently.

"I've got to get out of here," I said quietly. I made a mad dash for the door, grabbing a hoodie on the way.

"Where are you going?" Jason called, following after me.

"I can't tell you because then you'll tell Shane and I don't want to see him right now!" I screamed, starting down the street.

"Aww, come on!" Jason yelled. That's when I stopped and turned around, running back towards my house. "Thank god, come on," Jason said, reaching out for my hand.

"I didn't change my mind; I just remembered that I can take my mom's car," I said, quickly running back into the house. I grabbed a set of keys from the candy dish in the kitchen and went into the garage. I opened it and found Jason still there. I sighed, getting into my mom's black sedan.

Unfortunately for me, Jason's car was blocking my driveway and I couldn't escape.

"Move your car!" I sighed, getting out. Jason crossed his arms.

"No, you have to stay."

"One more time, MOVE YOUR CAR!" I yelled. He just stood there, shaking his head. "UGH fine!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air and getting back in the car. I backed up, turned so that I was parallel to Jason's car and then floored it - racing over our front lawn and then finally onto the street. All I could see was Jason jumping around angrily, getting the keys to his own car out of his pocket. I had to turn quick, so that he wouldn't be able to follow me. I did so successfully, and then slowed the speed down. I knew exactly where I had to go - I didn't really want to, but I knew I had to.

I wanted first to go to a supermarket to some chocolate or something along those lines to calm me down, but that's when I realized I didn't take anything with me - not my money, not my licence not even my phone. At least no one could reach me now.

Is that a good thing?

It could be a bad thing,

But is it?

It didn't matter at this point, I concluded. I wasn't going back - especially not with Shane on his way there. I couldn't speak to him, not after what happened. Not right away anyway. I mean - technically, he was only thinking about me, but still - he was wrong, and even if there was the teeniest, tiniest, little, itty bitty chance that maybe he wasn't completely wrong, there was no way I could face him.

With all these thoughts swimming in my head, I hadn't even noticed that I reached my destination already. I was sitting on the curb for practically five minutes already - just sitting. I turned the car off, getting out. I took a deep breath and started up the driveway towards the door. I rang the doorbell. About a half a minute later it was opened.

"Mitchie?"

* * *

**Did you like it? :)**

**Bree  
****Xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Only a relatively short chapter today.  
****I was going to write more, but I got distracted and shit :D**

**And for everyone that hasn't read it yet – I posted a new one shot. If you like Shane/Mitchie lemons then my story is the entire lemon orchard. *insert devil horns here***

* * *

**December 24  
6:00 PM**

"H-hey Nate," I said, smiling weakly. My cheeks were tear-stained from before and my nose was red from crying.

"What's wrong?" he said, putting one hand on my shoulder.

"Could I maybe come in?" I asked, wiping my eyes with my arm.

"Yeah, yeah, come in," he said, helping me in. As he led me down the hallway, I could smell his mom's cooking in the kitchen. He led me over to the living room and sat me down on a couch.

"I know you probably don't want to see me right now, and I fully understand," I choked out, "...but thanks." He shrugged, sending a blank message.

"What happened? What's wrong?" he said, kneeling down in front of me. His concerned eyes betraying his blank demeanour.

"Shane and I- we- we got into a- a fight," I said, sniffling.

"Oh... I'm sorry," he said, sitting next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. I buried my head in his chest and cried. He rubbed my back soothingly, trying to calm me down. "I'm sure whatever it is, the two of you can work it out," he said gently.

"Why does everyone say that?" I said, looking up at him.

"Are you saying you can't work it out?"

"He said he wants to spend time apart,"

"He did? Why?" Nate looked alarmed.

Not the reaction I was expecting. I was expecting some big-ass lecture about how he was trying to do the right thing.

"So I can get used to it for when he's away? I don't know…" I offered, then broke into another wave of tears. "I don't know...." I choked.

"I know you're upset - but he's only thinking about you," Nate said, rubbing my back.

Ah. And there it is.

"Stay here, I'll go make you some tea," I nodded as he stood up.

How come everyone always says 'he's only thinking about you'?

Because it's true.

Shut up, head.

But honestly, how can time apart, especially on CHRISTMAS be thinking about anybody?

Maybe you should let him explain himself.

SHUT UP, HEAD!

I hate boys.

Stupid boys.

Stupid boys with stupid heads and stupid haircuts and stupid white jeans.

But you love stupid boys with stupid heads and stupid haircuts wearing stupid white jeans.

Grrr. It's true.

"Back," Nate said, coming in with a mug. He sat down beside me and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I smiled, wrapping both my cold hands around it.

**7:00 PM**

Nate told me I could spend the next couple of days there, with him and his, well my family. I didn't talk to anyone much for that hour, except Nate. I stayed in the living room just thinking. The doorbell rang and my heart began racing.

What if it was Shane?

What am I going to say?

What do I have to do?

I heard Nate walk over to the front door and open it.

"Took you long enough," I heard him say.

"Can I see her?" I heard Shane say.

"Dude, she doesn't want to talk to you," I heard Nate say.

Here's your chance... go talk to him, let him explain himself. Besides, don't you miss him?

THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!

"I know, but I need-"

"Leave her alone, it's what you wanted, isn't it?" Nate said.

"Nate it's fine," I found myself saying, standing in front of the hallway. I don't even remember getting up from the couch and walking over.

"Mitchie," Shane said softly. Nate looked at me, then back at Shane then back at me.

"Are you sure?" Nate said to me. I nodded weakly and walked towards the two.

"Can we maybe take a walk?" Shane asked. His eyes were sad but looked hopeful. I nodded, walking past him and down the porch steps. He followed. The first minute or so was silent.

"I thought you wanted to spend time apart," I mumbled, looking just past my shoes.

"No," Shane said. "I mean yes, I mean no - not now, I mean like later, after you know, the holidays, and like, I mean, you'll be alone anyway when I do stuff, right? Disregarding James Bond, because, you know, he's a dog and all. I mean unless you want to go on tour with us because you can if you want to, but weren't you talking about like getting a job or something? And you probably want to have a career or something and-"

"What does this have to do with anything?" I said, cutting his rambling off. He looked up at me, his mouth hanging open as if he wanted to say something. He paused for a few seconds.

"I don't want to leave you unprepared," he said quietly.

"Unprepared?"

"What are you going to do when I leave?" He asked. That's when it hit me. I finally realized what he was talking about.

Told you he was right.

Shut up.

What AM I going to do when he leaves? I can't just sit at home all day. I have to do something with my life.

"I don't know," I said quietly. "But being away from you is not going to help me figure it out," I added.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't want to think about this right now," I said. "It's Christmas and it's cold and all I want to do is eat turkey, sing Christmas carols and nestle up near the fireplace," I announced. "...and I want to do it with you," I said, looking up at him. I wasn't crying - I couldn't anymore, but I think I still conveyed the same feelings.

It was very dark out, for seven anyway, but the street was lit up by all the Christmas lights. Neither of us said anything. I walk past him and sat down on the curb, rubbing my arms with my hands. I felt him standing over me. He sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should've waited 'til after." I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed.

"You meant well..." I admitted quietly. "I'm sorry too." He wrapped his other arm around me and kissed my forehead.

"I love you," he said.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"I thought you said that stopped being funny when we got off the plane?" He looked at me accusingly. Lovingly accusingly.

"Only when you say it," I said, grinning up at him.

"...and I thought you said you'd stop making fun of me every time I try to be romantic?"

"Was that supposed to be romantic?" I said, laughing. He knew I was joking.

"You're not funny."

"Oh? But I am."

"Not."

"So."

"Not."

"So."

"Not.

"So."

"Not."

"So."

"So not," he said. I stood up and put my hands on my hips.

"I so am, and you enjoy my comedy," I stated. "Let's go back, I'm hungry," I said, helping him up.

"I've got to go back to my mom's," he said, shrugging. "Are you coming?"

"I can't, I'm staying at Nate's," I said, half-smiling. "Pick me up tomorrow?" I asked, raising my shoulders. He smiled, taking my hands. He lowered his head towards mine and kissed my lips softly. His warm lips sent their familiar goosebumps sensation throughout my body. I smiled as we broke apart.

**December 25  
****11:00 AM**

After over a month, I finally got a phone call from my parents. I was sitting around the living room with Nate and his parents and other cousins when my cell phone rang. I politely excused myself into the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas!" My mom's voice rang over the phone.

"You too mom," I said, a bit less enthusiastically.

"We tried calling the house, where are you?"

"I'm with Nate's family - they invited me," I said.

"Oh, well that was nice," she commented. She didn't really sound too interested.

"So where are you right now?" I said, shifting my weight onto one foot. I was just being polite. If it took her this long to even remember she had a daughter, I really didn't care where the fuck she was.

"We're in Sri Lanka - oh my goodness it's beautiful here! We've got a suite that looks right over the ocean and," she said. I heard laughing in the background.

"That's nice..." I cut in.

"So I hope you had a happy birthday, yes?"

I'm glad she finally remembered. Fuck.

"I was in Australia," I said.

"Australia? What? Why? "

"Well, after you and dad ditched me, Nate felt sorry for me and invited me out," I stated truthfully. Albeit harshly.

"Oh... well I hope you had fun," she said, as if I didn't totally mouth off to her.

"Yeah... I did."

"Well I've got to go, your father sends his love," she said. I could just imagine her on her end of the phone, waving her arm around and being more interested in everything else but the conversation.

"Bye," I barely got in before she hung up.

That was SO not a conversation worth waiting a month for....

**December 25  
****8:30 PM**

I was just about to call Shane when he showed up at the door. Since we hadn't formally decided on when we would meet up, I was going to call, but I guess I didn't have to.

"Ready to go?" He asked me, after he said his hello's to the family.

"Yep," I smiled, putting my jacket on. After I followed him out the door, he waited for Nate to close the door all the way before grabbing my shoulders and forcing a rough, but passionate kiss onto my lips. As we pulled apart, the grin that lit up his face echoed onto my own.

"Merry Christmas," he breathed, looking into my eyes, and then kissed me again. This time softer, sweeter.

"Merry Christmas," I said, and pecked his lips.

"Come on, I have a present for you."

"No, Shane no..." I pleaded. "You do too much for me,"

"I don't do enough for you," He grinned cheesily. "...go ahead, laugh. That was a failed attempt at romance."

"No, it was sweet," I said, and kissed him on the cheek. "I have one for you too... but I left it at your place... or Shaun's place... you know, there…" I said, trying to figure out what to call that house.

"Come on," He said, going to his car. I went around and sat in the front passenger seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as we started out of Nate's neighbourhood.

"It's a surprise," he grinned, his eyes glinting mischiviously.

"I love surprises," I said, sarcasm dripping from my mouth. He grinned a toothy grin, and took one hand off the wheel, placing it around one of mine. "So guess what," I started.

"What?"

"My mom called me."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I dunno. I guess... she's in Sri Lanka or something. I didn't even know they were going to Asia... anyway, I told them I was in Australia when she asked about my birthday... she wasn't really mad or anything. I'm starting to think she doesn't care what I do..." I said, rambling. "Sorry, you probably don't care." I shook my head.

"No, no," he said softly. "I care about whatever you care about."

About twenty minutes later, we arrived at a really grand hotel in the city. I figured it was best not to ask any questions, with Shane, I never really knew what to expect anyway, so something as random as a hotel wasn't really too strange for me.

"Okay, close your eyes," he said, parking the car.

"What? No! ...and have everyone looking at me like I'm crazy? No way," I said, crossing my arms.

"Please?" he begged. "Otherwise I can't make it a surprise... pleeeease?" He begged. I looked at him.

Oh, that face! I couldn't refuse it. I sighed.

"Fine..." I stepped out of the car and closed my eyes. Five seconds later I felt him lace one of his hands with mine and he began walking.

"Okay, now walk straight." He said. He led me like this for about five minutes, and then there was a five minute break. I figured it was because we were in an elevator - I could hear the beeping of the numbers and I felt it as we went up. Finally, we stepped off and he led me out. He led me clumsily up a flight of stairs and then through a door. I instantly felt the cold wing whip past my body. I knew exactly where we were, and I wasn't excited. "Okay open your eyes," He said.

"No."

"Come on..." he said.

"Shane, I'm sorry that I'm ruining your surprise but I know we're ON THE ROOF of the hotel and just in case you forgot... I HATE HEIGHTS!"

"Please?" he said, squeezing my hand tighter. "I'm here, okay? Nothing bad will happen,"

"You promise?"

"I promise," he reassured me. I was still a bit hesitant, so I slowly opened one eye - then the other.

Oh -- My -- God.

There were white roses spread out all around the roof and white candles, lit and encased so the wind wouldn't blow them out. I looked up - the stars were glimmering extra brightly. I looked out at the city - the lights coloured the horizon elegantly. I had completely forgotten about the fact that I was hundreds of feet in the air. That's when I looked up at Shane.

"This is so beautiful," I whispered. He smiled, taking my hands.

"You'll probably think this is irrational...which it might be, and maybe it's not the right time with everything going on, but I've never been so sure about anything in my whole life and I'll be completely devastated if you say no, here it goes," he said in one big breath. He put my hands together and wrapped his around; he got down on both knees and looked up at me.

Oh god.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

Oh my fucking god.

"Ohmygod," I choked in a whisper. My eyes were filling up with moisture – but none of it overflowing.

"I honestly don't know why you like me so much; I don't know what I did to be so fortunate - I am the luckiest person alive - I'm not letting you go - please, please marry me?" Shane stared up at me, his eyes hopeful eyes locking with my tear filled ones.

My hands started shaking and I felt my knees getting weak. I couldn't describe what was going through my head - sure, I could name a million of reasons to say no, but that would be listening to my head - and if there's one thing I learned about happy endings, it's to never be rational.

I nodded my head up and down so quickly, if anyone had been watching they probably would have thought that I was having a seizure. Shane stood up, and could not have been smiling wider. He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up, spinning me around a dozen times. He set me down and didn't even pause to look at me. He placed his hands firmly on my shoulders and pressed his lips against mine. The kiss was the most passionate I'd ever experienced. He held his lips there for a good minute at least before slowly pulling back to study my face. We stood there silently - grinning, but silent. There were no words to express what I was feeling - I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I couldn't even utter 'yes' to him.

It didn't matter.

Words weren't needed.

"Oh wait," he said, letting go of me. He stepped back and stuck his hand in his pocket. He dug around for a few seconds before pulling out a small, velvet black box.

"Shane," I began.

"I can't believe I almost forgot," he said, opening it towards him. He looked down at it and then turned it to me. My jaw dropped. It was a platinum band ring with a huge cone shaped diamond. He took it out of the box and grabbed my left hand. Before I could protest to the extravagance of it, he gently slipped it onto my ring finger and pushed it back past the knuckle. He kissed my cheek softly.

"Thank you," he said. Shane's eyes now mimicked my own, but I knew I'd cry before he did.

"Shane… for what? I didn't do anything,"

"I wish I could tell you - but I can't explain the way you make me feel." I smiled, shutting my eyes. A tear quickly slid down my cheek as our noses touched. I sighed and melted into his chest. Shane grabbed my waist and simply held me.

* * *

**Hurrayyyy!  
Finally, right? Yeah, I don't like them often, but once in a while it's good to have a wedding story :)  
Only a few more chapters of this story to go. It's highly unlikely there will be a sequal, sorry. But then there will be more time for me to work on It Had To Be You. (If you haven't read it yet, go, go, GO!)**

If you didn't read at the start, I'll just remind you that I've posted the lemon orchard under the title 'Just Friends…?'. When you read it, you'll understand ;)


	13. Chapter 13

**You'll be glad to know that this story still has a few chapters left in it!  
You _won't _be glad to know that I'm not planning on a sequel. Maybe just an epilogue.**

**I've got too many other ideas floating around to commit to this story again. But don't despair! There will definitely be a sequal to _Between You And I_.**

* * *

**December 26  
10:20 AM**

We didn't tell anybody about the engagement. Well it's not like had time to, anyway. But nobody knew apart from just us two. I didn't really have any girl friends to ring up and squeal through the phone to. And all my guy friends were friends of Shane as well – so those conversations could be saved for a time when we were together.

Shane had picked me up and carried me back inside, where we made out in the empty elevator until we reached the ground floor. After we got down from the roof of the building, we drove back to his/Shaun's place where I gave him his present. It wasn't super romantic like his – mind you, I don't really think I could top that. It was simply a framed picture of him, James Bond (who was still with Jason) and I in Australia.

I told him it was so he wouldn't forget JB and I when he was out being a rock star.

After that, well, I'll be frank. We had hot sex all night long.

When I woke up the next morning, I didn't expect Shane to not be there - but he wasn't. I shrugged it off - maybe he went to the bathroom or something? I laid alone for ten minutes before getting up. I wanted to know where he went.

I picked up the button down shirt Shane was wearing last night and threw it on – not bothering about pants. After determining that Shane wasn't in the basement anymore, I walked up his stairs where I could hear someone rattling around in the kitchen.

When I entered, I was a little surprised that Shane wasn't eating, or even cooking. He was pacing.

Pacing in the kitchen.

"Hey..." I said, coming towards him. He looked up. His face was full of worry. "What's wrong?" I asked him, putting my arms around his neck.

"You need to see something," he said. His tone made me worried. I released my arms and followed him to the living room. He sat me down on Shaun's couch and turned on the news.

**December 26  
10:40 AM**

Before I even got a chance to see what was on, Shane had switched the TV off again.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, thoroughly confused now.

"Umm... okay, so I think maybe that's not the best way to tell you," he set the remote down and stared at it.

"Tell me what? What are you talking about?" I said. The way he was acting was making me really worried. Had something happened to the boys?

"Okay," he said, sitting down next to me. He grabbed my hands and looked at me. "So it's like this," he began - but no other words came out of his mouth. He looked like he was struggling for words.

"It's like what?"

"There really isn't any good way to say this, but,"

"Shane, WHAT?" I exclaimed. He opened his mouth to speak again, and again, no words came out. Suddenly my cell phone starting ringing from the kitchen. I sighed getting up. "You're acting really strange," I said, walking into the kitchen. I picked up my phone; it was Nate's house. "Hello?"

"Oh darling!" Came a voice filled with hysterics.

"Aunt Claudia? What's wrong?" I asked Nate's mom. She began madly crying that I couldn't figure out what she was saying.

"Mom, mom," I heard in the background. It was Nate. "Mom give me the phone, I'll talk to her,"

"Nate?" I said into the phone. "What's wrong with your mom? What's going on?"

"Um, I'm guessing you didn't see the news yet," he said, sounding strangely bothered. Shane had come into the kitchen by this time.

"No, obviously..." I muttered.

"Well I better tell you, is Shane nearby?"

"He's right here; do you want to speak to him?"

"No, no, just, okay, are you sitting? Sit down if you're not sitting." he said.

"Ok..." I said, raising an eyebrow. I sat down on one of the bar stools.

"Actually you'd better stand, yeah, yeah, stand," he said hastily.

"Nathan, what is going on?" I said, standing back up. I'm pretty sure I was visibly pissed that everyone knew something that I didn't.

"There was a - a tsunami - in Asia - it hit Sri Lanka, Aunt Connie and Uncle Steve - your parents, they - they might be dead," Nate choked out.

"What?" I asked, confused. Surely I couldn't have just heard what I think I heard. My head was still processing Nate's words.

"I'm sorry, Mitch," he sounded apologetic.

I pulled the phone away from my ear. I quietly, slowly, turned the phone off and set it down on the counter. I looked up at Shane. Then I looked down at my arms and found myself shaking. I didn't know if I was scared or worried or just shocked. I didn't know what to say or what to think even. Nate's words finally sunk in.

My parents could be dead.

My PARENTS.

True - they did kind of ditch me and everything, but still, they were my parents!

I took a few panicky breaths and then sprinted towards the door. I ran outside and started down the street. I didn't know where I was going and most of my thoughts were pretty blurred and incomprehensible. All I knew was that I needed to run. I didn't know the neighbourhood that well so I took arbitrary turns and just hoped I wouldn't end up in a dead-end.

I knew Shane was following me - he was somewhat far behind though, since I was at the end of the first street when he started chasing after me. I didn't want him to see me - so broken. It was an irrational thought since, out of everyone in the world, he cared for me the most. And if I turned my back on him in my greatest time of need – it might just be the stupidest thing I'd ever do.

Unfortunately for me though, the rational side was fighting a lost battle in brain which is why I ran for about a mile until I just couldn't run anymore. My legs couldn't carry me and I was out of breath. I collapsed onto a curb and began whimpering.

My whole body was shaking and I didn't have the strength to pick myself up. Tears spilled from my eyes as I made small gasps for air. I could hear a car approaching quickly.

I didn't know how much of my body was on the street but I did know I needed to move so I wouldn't get hit. I tried, but I couldn't gather enough strength. I shut my eyes, waiting for what was to come. All I heard was the honking of the car horn and then I blacked out temporarily.

I found it was just a few seconds later that I regained consciousness. I slowly sat up and found myself noticeably farther away from the curb – well out of the way of where any cars would hit me.

I saw a large black car straight ahead in front of me. There were two bodies in front of it - one standing over the other. I slowly stood up and made my way over. That's when the possibilities raced through my mind. My heart was beating out of my chest as I expected the worst.

I was afraid to get any closer - I would be able to tell if the body on the ground belonged to Shane.

"Hello? We need an ambulance!" I heard the standing man say into a cell phone. I didn't know what to think. I stepped closer and to my horror - it was Shane, my Shane, lying on the ground. He threw me out of the way and got hit by the car!

"Shane!" I choked, throwing myself beside him. His eyes were open and he was gripping his arm. Blood was trickling down his shirt.

"Mitchie," he whispered, staring me intently in the eyes. I felt the pain and agony in his voice. It ripped through me like a blunt knife.

"Shane!" I repeated, cupping his face. Just a minute ago I was running from him and now I never wanted to be apart from him. His eyes drooped close and I screamed at him to stay open.

"Stay awake, Shane! I swear to God, if you don't I'll fucking slap you." Even in his weak state, he chuckled.

He was still conscious.

"Shane, you can't do this to me. I love you," I held one of his hands as I used the other to wipe the tears that were furiously leaking from my eyes. I got no verbal response from him.

"I love you," I leant down and whispered tearfully in his ear. I felt the fingers that were interlocked with mine squeeze lightly. He was still there. Listening.

"It'll be okay," I choked out as I heard the ambulance approaching. Another weak squeeze, and then, nothing.

**December 26  
12:00 PM**

"Mrs. Gray I presume?" Dr. Bell approached me. We were at the hospital and I had been sitting in the waiting area in the lobby ever since we got here. I called all the guys so they were there trying to comfort me. Mostly just trying to make sure that I wouldn't totally break down between my two recent situations.

What did I do in my past life to deserve this?

"Uh, no," I blushed slightly, standing up.

Now, I know what I should be concerned about at this time, but my brain had other plans. It was the first time that I realized; soon, somewhere in my life I was going to be Mrs. Gray.

Nobody knew about our engagement still, so before continuing on with Shane's doctor, I quickly turned the ring Shane gave me 180 degrees so nobody would notice.

I hoped.

"Are you his sister?"

"Uh no, girlfriend," I corrected. _Fiancée._

"Oh, well, Mr. Gray suffered a minor concussion in the ambulance, but he's conscious now. His shoulder was dislocated and there was excessive bleeding of the upper arm and back. We wrapped up his arm and put it in a sling. He can go home today -- make sure he doesn't put any pressure on his arm though."

"Oh, thank god," I gasped. This was the best piece of news I'd ever received in my entire life.

I was trying not to think of the worst, but that little pessimistic part of my brain truly believed that all this was just too good to be true.

"You can see him now if you want, he's awake and he's been asking for you." He shuffled some papers on his clipboard and walked off.

"What exactly happened?" Nate lightly grabbed my arm before I could go into Shane's room. I turned around and bit my lip - when I called him I only told him that Shane was hit by a car, I never told him how or why.

It was because of me, and now Shane couldn't go on tour and it was because of me. I didn't want everyone to know that it was my fault; I didn't want people to think that he would be better off without me.

"It's kind of a blur," I lied. "We were just walking and, I don't know, it happened." Nate nodded solemnly though I doubt he believed me. I shrugged and went to see Shane. When I got to his room, I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The nurse that was in there was leaving just as I was entering.

Shane smiled weakly when he saw me. He was sitting up on the side of the bed, still dressed in the clothes he was in, his arm wrapped up in a sling.

"Hey," he said. I walked over to him and sat down beside him.

"Hey," I choked, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. "How are you?"

"I'll be fine, but what about you?" he said. As the thought of my parents being gone forever flashed through my mind, I shut my eyes. I wanted to change the subject.

"Why did you do that?"

"What, jump in front of a car?"

"Now you can't play and it's my entire fault. Why did you have to do that?" I said as a few more tears fell from my eyes.

He looked at me as if I just said I didn't know who William Shakespeare was. "Are you serious? Mitchie it would have run over you! You could have been killed!" he exclaimed.

"Well what about you? YOU could have been killed!"

"It doesn't matter. I'd give my life for you - and I guess I almost did," he shrugged. "I'd jump in front of a hundred cars for you."

"Shane if you'd died - I - I don't know what I would do - I think I'd jump in front of a car myself."

"No, please don't say that!" he said, squeezing my hand with his good hand.

"Think about it!" I exclaimed. "If you died - I would be completely ALONE! My PARENTS ARE DEAD!" I yelled and then burst into a fit of tears.

"You don't know that!" he whispered loudly, placing the good arm around my shoulders. He couldn't hug me, but he tried.

I broke down, burying my head in his neck, soaking it with tears. He held me tight.

"I'm here for you, you're not alone," he whispered. The door opened slowly and the guys walked in one by one and saw the scene before them. I felt someone sit on the other side of me. He began to rub my back - it had to be Nate.

**3:00 PM**

We went to Nate's house, where I locked myself in his bedroom and didn't let anybody in; not his parents, not him and not Shane. I curled myself up in the corner between his bed and his window frame and sobbed.

Everyone took turns knocking, trying to let me let them in - but I ignored each and every person.

I didn't want anyone to see me and I didn't want to see anyone.

I was a true wreck - yet I had every right to be. I didn't know if my parents were alive or not and I didn't know who to call to find out.

My fiancée was hit by a car and it was all my fault that he nearly died. It had been about ten minutes since the last attempt to enter when it had started up again.

"Mitchie, please can I come in?" begged Shane's voice. I didn't answer. "Please? Talk to me? Or, just let me sit with you? You don't even have to say anything - I won't say anything, please? I don't want you to be alone, please?" I still didn't answer.

"Will you let any of us in?" Nate called sounding worried. They were all concerned, I knew that, but I couldn't have any of them here with me - my head was saying no. "Just let one stand in the room with you?"

"Remember when my parents were - you know, and you were there," Shane began. "I wanted you there and I know you need someone right now, you don't want to be alone."

"We don't want you to hurt yourself," Jason said. Hurt myself? HURT MYSELF?

Would I do that?

"Jason!" I heard.

"What? It's true!"

"Yeah - but-"

"Uh, you guys, focus here," Another voice said.

"You guys this is SO not the time for jokes - Mitchie we're not leaving until you let one of us in - even if we have to stand here all day - even if Shane with his one good arm has to climb up the side of the house and through the window."

"Yeah - hey, what?"

"Yeah, even if we have to beat the door down!"

"Please, just one of us?! Just ONE!" Shane pleaded. "It doesn't even have to be me,"

"Yeah, or me," Nate said.

"We're all here for you," Jason said gently. I sighed in the midst of my bawling. I slowly stood up and travelled over to the door. I unlocked it and opened it slowly. I uttered the name of the person who I wanted in.

**December 26  
3:20 PM**

"Shane." I muttered. Honestly, who else would it be? Shane was my fiancée and he was the only one who knew what it was like to potentially lose both parents at the same time.

I also wouldn't have to watch myself, because he knew what happened with the car accident, I wouldn't have to lie about not knowing what happened.

Shane looked at all the other guys and then quickly came in. I closed the door and turned around to look at him. His eyes were sad and concerned. I slowly walked over to him - he watched my every move. I threw my arms around his neck and began crying silently. He wrapped his one arm around me and pulled me tight. My silent tears turned into quiet whimpers - and then full out bawling. We stood there like that for close to half an hour before I found that I couldn't cry anymore.

That's when my cell phone rang. I broke apart from Shane. I think he sensed my fear. I didn't want to pick it up, but I knew I had to. We both knew what it had to be about. I slowly pulled the phone out of my jeans pocket and picked it up.

"Hhhello?" I said. My whole body trembled and I could she Shane watching me intently with concerned eyes.

* * *

**What can I say? I like my cliffhangers :D**

**Are her parents okay?  
Or not.  
Who knows?  
Oh, wait, I do!**

**I already have the next chapter written, so if you all want to know what happens, quicker, you better click that review button!  
You know me - the more reviews, the quicker yer get yer story!**


	14. Chapter 14

**First off, can I just say how AMAZING was the latest episode of J.O.N.A.S, with Kevin's high voice part? Oh my god, I laughed for so long and watched it so many times you have no idea :D**

**And also: "Didn't you tell him we don't have time for songs? Put the guitar down and turn the lights back on."**

**Bahahahah.**

**Anyway, here you goooo:**

* * *

f

"_That's when my cell phone rang. I broke apart from Shane. I think he sensed my fear. I didn't want to pick it up, but I knew I had to. We both knew what it had to be about. I slowly pulled the phone out of my jeans pocket and picked it up._

_"Hhhello?" I said. My whole body trembled and I could she Shane watching me intently with concerned eyes."_

* * *

**December 26  
3:21 PM**

"Yes, this is Michelle Torres." Shane took a couple of steps closer to me holding his arms out for a hug. I was trying to concentrate on what the Sri Lankan lady on the phone was saying, but looking into Shane's concerned eyes made my heart break.

"Oh, okay. Thank you," I whispered into the phone. Shane looked genuinely scared now.

I softly pressed the glowing red button on the phone before my body physically gave up on me. The phone clattered to the floor but my eyes never left Shane's. The next things to go were my knees, but before I hit the ground, Shane swooped down and collected me.

"Mitchie?" his voice rang softly in my ears. I didn't answer him.

I couldn't.

What do I say?

He seemed to understand. He always understood.

"Oh, Mitchie," he choked, his eyes tearing up as he held me fiercely close to him. I didn't have the strength to move my arm and hold him back, even though that was all I wanted.

I didn't cry.

I couldn't yet. It hadn't sunk in.

So we sat there, for minutes? Hours? Days? I wasn't sure. All that I knew was that Shane was there for me. Like he always was. But now, more than ever. He held me, comforted me. Soothed me. He knew what to say. He knew what to do.

He just knew.

And I knew I could never – would never – let him go.

I could feel he felt the same way.

And then at one point – I'm not sure after how long – I broke down.

Tears wracked through my body, sending it into violent convulsions. But Shane still held me.

I hyperventilated and choked. But Shane still held me.

He was rubbing my back soothingly. Whispering in my ear things I couldn't comprehend at this moment in time.

He sung softly in my ear. His melodic voice carrying me through my tears. Helping me stay strong.

I needed to.

The only time he left me was to fetch me a bottle of water and some aspirin, but he went straight back to his position and it was like he never left.

And I was grateful.

**June 12  
12:30 PM**

It had been about six months since then. It was the most depressing period I have ever experienced, but luckily things have only gotten better since then. Shane and I told everyone about our engagement and everyone was excited for us.

No one seemed to object to it, even though we've only been dating for a month before we got engaged. I sold the house and my parents' cars. I put some of the money away for college, which I decided I would start in the fall, and the rest I put towards the house Shane and I were building.

Nate's family graciously let me stay with them until the house was done.

Our wedding was in four days, and instead of doing it the traditional 24 hour way, we geniously decided not to see each other for an entire week before the wedding. It has been three days since we last saw each other and I thought it would be easy since we didn't see each other for longer periods of time when he was on tour - except, then, we at least talked on the phone, we decided not to have ANY contact at all until we met at the alter.

What a STUPID idea.

I swear to god we're going to have so much sex on our wedding night.

"Here's some tea," Andy said, coming into the guest room I stayed in. He handed me a tea cup and sat down next to me on the bed. I was staring at my wedding gown, which was hanging on the closet door in front of us. "Nervous?"

"A little." I nodded, not taking my eyes off it. The dress was all white with the top part a strapless corset style. The bottom of the dress fanned out like a ballroom gown with crystals lining the bottom. I bought it a month ago, but I wouldn't let Shane see it.

I wasn't that much an understated kind of girl.

Can you tell?

Andy had been helping me plan the wedding. He was really good with organizing and remembering details and things like that, so I was really glad when he volunteered to help. I was also happy that we spent time together because he was really the only one that I didn't really get close with.

Nate's my cousin, Shane's my fiancee, and Jason and Shaun were the ones who convinced me to stay with Shane when I sought to break up. Now Andy was helping me put together the most important day of my life and I don't think I would have it any other way.

"I was at Shane's yesterday," Andy chuckled. "He was so nervous."

"Really?" I said. "He was never really nervous around me..." I said, remembering back to that first day. I found myself starting to tell Andy our whole love story. "When he picked me up at the airport because Nate got stuck in an elevator,"

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" Andy said, laughing.

"He started tickling me in the limo - and then we starting flirting, like physically - and then right before we got to the hotel, he kissed me." I smiled, remembering the feeling from when it happened. "And this other time, well actually I think it was like the same night or something, when we got back from drinking, he like pounced on me on the bed and started making out with me until our lips were swollen - well, until Nate walked in the room anyway,"

"I remember that night," Andy nodded. "I could hear the yelling all the way in my room." He said. I laughed.

"And then - oh my god, he was so cute, he tried to teach me how to skateboard, but I ended up falling on my ass," I grinned.

"Well it's good that you two are always laughing together, I admire that," Andy said.

"We've had our not so happy times too," I said, looking down. "There was the time that we got into a fight over this stupid guy who tried to make a move on me."

"When did that happen?" Andy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, we made up like fifteen minutes later," I shook my head. "But since we met this guy I knew Shane didn't like him - so it was really just the tension boiling over I guess," I shrugged. Andy started laughing. "What?"

"You guys made up fifteen minutes later?"

"Well...yeah..." I answered.

"Wow…"

"Well we've had longer fights!" I defended. I wasn't exactly sure why.

"Oh like that time right around Christmas where you had a fight about spending time together and then made up that night?" He said, laughing even more now.

Now that he mentioned it and I thought about it, I didn't remember a time where a fight lasted for over a day. There was the Rose thing, but - that was also a same-day thing. It took me personally time to heal, but, we made up that day too.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked sincerely.

"Well... no, I don't think so." Andy said. "It's great that you two can always work things out."

"Yeah," I smiled. "It is."

"So I hear Shane's a regular knight in shining armour?" Andy said.

"Yes - yes he is." I nodded. "On several occasions he has come to my rescue." I remembered. I told Andy about the Josh thing, and of course he knew about the thing with my parents, and the time on my birthday where I was too afraid to move on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and then I told him about the car accident. That was the first time I admitted to anyone that it was my fault.

"He jumped in front of the car?" He said, his eyes searching mine.

"Yeah," I nodded. "So I wouldn't get hit."

"Wow. I mean, not wow, I wouldn't really expect anything less from Shane,"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? He's crazy about you; I'd be surprised if he didn't jump in front of it for you!" Andy exclaimed.

"Oh." I nodded, smiling a bit.

"Can I ask you a personal question? Would you mind?" Andy said.

"No, of course not, go ahead," I said.

"Okay, well, um, when you first started liking Shane, what attracted you to him?" he said. I thought about it for a moment, and then gave him my honest answer.

"His impeccable taste in glasses, both sun and regular," I said. "Not to mention his incredibly sexy haircuts, and his voice - holy fuck, it sends chills down my spine," I went on.

"So, looks you could say?" Andy asked, watching his hands.

"Well at first, why?" I asked. He shrugged a bit.

"I was just wondering what attracted girls to guys," he said quietly.

"Aww, Andy, girls are attracted to you! Remember Tess?" I said, surprised that I, myself remembered Tess.

"I guess," he shrugged. "We weren't serious though. I really want a serious girlfriend," he said.

I was really honoured that he chose to share this personal stuff with me, it made me feel special.

"Well don't worry, you'll find someone." I said, rubbing his back.

"I don't know - especially with my schedule, who would put up with that?"

"Uh, hello?" I said, waving my hand with the engagement ring in his face.

"Shane's really lucky," he said, half smiling. "You're one in a million." he kissed my cheek. "I'm glad that he ended up with you."

"Thanks, Andy." I smiled. "Me too."

**  
June 13  
****10:00 PM**

"Please just let me call him! I need to hear his voice!" I begged Nate, who had hidden my phone from me so I couldn't call Shane.

"Nope. You're so close to the end, don't ruin it now," he said, grinning somewhat evilly.

"But it's been four days!" I said, ready to cry.

"That's right. That means you only have three more to go!" He smiled. Suddenly the regular phone rang. We both lunged for it, but Nate got there first.

"Hello? ... Shane what are you doing? Don't call here! No, you have to hold out!"

"SHANE!" I screamed so maybe he'd hear me. "SHANE, I MISS YOU!"

"MITCHIE? IS THAT YOU?" I heard him yell on the other line.

"SHANE!"

"MITCHIE!"

"I'm hanging up now!" Nate said, turning the phone off.

"NOOO!" I hollered, pouncing on him. He pushed me off of him and stood up, grabbing the cordless.

"I'm going to take this," he said, heading towards the door.

"You like seeing me suffer, don't you?" I said, folding my arms.

"You know it's what I live for," he said, giving me a devilish smile.

**June 15  
8:15 PM**

"Breathe Mitchie, breathe!" Nate told me from the other side of the bathroom door. I'd been throwing up in the bathroom for about twenty minutes now. The wedding is tomorrow.

TOMORROW.

Before I was all, 'Oh wedding, fun!' and now I was a mess. I was so nervous I couldn't stand up straight.

"Finish up in there and try to get some rest," I heard Pamela, my aunty, call. "You have to get up pretty early for a very big day," she said.

Yeah right, like I was getting sleep that night.

I was really glad though that she was taking this motherly role now that my mother was... well, gone. Nate was giving me away tomorrow which I thought was great because he was the one that let Shane and I happen in the first place - not that we needed permission, but I would have left Australia otherwise. He could have just said 'no' and none of this would have ever happened, but thank god he didn't.

"Okay I think I'm done now," I called weakly, flushing the toilet for the last time. I washed my face and brushed and Listerine'd my mouth out and emerged from the bathroom.

"Feel better almost-Mrs. Gray?" Nate teased. I quickly turned around and went to throw up again.

**June 16  
7:00 AM**

To nobody's surprise, I did not get one minute of sleep, I don't think I was even tired. So finally, when the clock turned to a reasonable hour, I shot out of bed and jumped into the shower. That's when it hit me. This would be the last shower I was going to take as a single woman. My next shower - I would be married. I would be a Mrs.

After I finished my shower and put on a pair of jeans and an old band tee, I called Andy. He was supposed to come over and help me get everything, including the dress, to the chapel. The ceremony was to be at 6. Until then, Andy, bless his heart, was going to go through the whole reception, calling any business involved (florist, caterer etc...) to make sure everything was on point.

My four bridesmaids and I were going for a run then a day spa. We would start getting ready at 3 - hair, makeup, etc...While all this was going on, Shane was supposed to stay put at his house with his groomsmen.

Just as I got off the phone with Andy, there was a knock on my door.

"Yeah, come in." I said, packing a tote bag for the spa. Ryan walked in, camera in hand. He was going to be our videographer for the wedding.

"Dum dum da dum," He began singing the wedding march.

"Ry, what are you doing? The wedding's not for eleven hours!" I said, turning my back on the camera.

"I know. I'm filming the whole day. The video's going to be awesome. I already got some footage of Shane sleeping," he said, moving closer to me.

"Sleeping? He was sleeping?" I said, turning around.

"Well, that's what people generally do, you see when muscles wear out-"

"I can't believe he was actually able to sleep! I didn't get one wink, NOT ONE!" I spazzed out.

"Well I think maybe he got tired from all the vomiting he was doing last night. Man, it was like every twenty seconds for like an hour," he described.

"Really?" My tone softened. I smiled. "He was throwing up?"

"Why do you sound so happy about that?" He questioned and I chuckled. "So, where are we off to, bridey?"

"Well, Ryan," I looked at the lens. "Andy is coming over and then we're going to drop some stuff off at the chapel."

"Sounds boring. I'm going to go back to Shane's," He said, turning the camera off.

"Suit yourself," I shrugged. Ryan turned around to leave and was all the way out the door and down the hall when he turned around and came back in. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say congratulations, I'm really happy for both of you." He gave me a quick but strong hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Ryab," I smiled. "See you later." I said, as he left again.

**12:00 PM**

Halfway throughout the run with my girlfriends, I found myself crying. When one asked me what was wrong, I just shook my head. I told her nothing was wrong. Everything was perfect today. At the spa, even though I was getting like the princess treatment, all I could do was think about Shane. What was he doing right now? Eating cereal? Putting socks on?

Then I started thinking about the ceremony. I couldn't wait, yet I knew once I started down that aisle it would be over before I knew it. I couldn't wait for everyone to see the dress - all 150 guests.

But mostly Shane.

I wanted Shane to see me in the dress. Maybe not even in the dress, I just wanted to see Shane. The dress part was just a bonus.

I went over the routine in my head at least a dozen times during my full body massage. Shane would take his position at the altar beside the minister. First the bridesmaids and their escorts, the groomsmen, would walk down the aisle and then split at the steps. First Jason and Josie, then Shaun and Peggy, then Andy and Lola. Ella would walk herself down the aisle and take her place behind Lola. Nate would be waiting for me midway down the aisle. Then the wedding march would begin and I would appear. Everyone would stand up and I'd slowly walk to Nate. He'd walk me the rest of the way, lift the veil and give me over to Shane.

**3:00 PM**

At the chapel, in the rather large bridal suite, my bridesmaids and I were getting out hair and makeup done. We had three hours to go. We were taking photos at 4:30 though, and it was really funny because we had to be stealth about it so Shane and I wouldn't see each other. He would be arriving at four to take his pictures with the groomsmen and the groomsmen with the bridesmaids. Andy came in periodically to give me updates about what was going on - he was like my little helper bunny, this whole thing was running because of him.

"You're so lucky," Josie sighed. "I mean, I only met Shane a few times, but I see the way you two are together."

"You noticed that too?" Lola said.

"What are you guys talking about?" I said, smiling. I kind of knew, but it was nice when other people said it.

"It's so obvious," Peggy added.

"Yeah, I mean, I know I'm supposed to be happy for you guys, and I am, don't get me wrong," Josie said, "...but you two are sickeningly good together."

"Sickeningly?" I repeated.

"Sickeningly." She confirmed.

"Good," I smiled. "That's what we were going for." We heard two swift knocks on the door. We all just assumed it was Andy again, but we were wrong, it was Ryan, with his camera. "Hey we're not dressed!" I exclaimed.

"Yes you are, you're wearing a robe." he said, continuing.

"Ryan," I whined, covering as much as I could with the aforementioned robe.

"What difference does it make? The only people who will see the video are you and Shane anyway."

"Get out, Ryan," I said, as nicely as possible.

"Aww, come on, just five minutes," He said, moving around.

"The photographer will be here in about twenty minutes, Shane's coming soon too with the rest," Andy said coming in.

"Wow, Andy," I said looking at him through the mirror. I wasn't allowed to turn my head. He was clad in his tuxedo. "You clean up nice." I grinned. He blushed a little.

"Okay so you four need to be dressed." He said to the bridesmaids. "Come out to the front when you're ready." He seemed not even notice Ryan.

"Well, I got everything I needed here," Ryan said, closing the screen. "I got some awesome footage about an hour ago of Shane trying to put on his tux. Aww, man it was the funniest thing, I bet he still doesn't have the whole thing together, I'm going to go check it out. Last time I saw him he was trying to stick both his legs through the same leg hole. Awesome," he said, leaving.

**5:30 PM**

This was it - everything was done and prepared. All that was left to do was just do it. The pictures have been taken, the guests had all arrived, the minister was here. Thirty minutes to go.

I have thirty minutes left as a single woman.

I stood in front of the mirror, all dressed, all ready, but nervous as hell. My hair was down and curly, reaching about my mid back and mid-chest. My tiara veil was on, but it wasn't covering my face yet. I looked down at my hands - they were shaking. There was a series of knocks on the door.

"Mitchie? Can I come in?" It was Nate. I turned around and quickly went over to the door, opening it. I let him in and shut the door.

"Hi," I said, weakly.

"Wow - you, you look gorgeous." He said, taking my hands.

"Thanks," I smiled, tilting my head up. I blinked a few times to try to prevent a tear or two from falling. I didn't pay $400 an hour makeup artist for nothing - but I knew that even if I tried, nothing could prevent my tear shed at the altar.

"You're going to do good," He said, hugging me. "I'm so proud of you." I smiled. My stomach was churning though - I felt so sick, I just, I just wanted to do it.

"How's Shane?" I asked.

"Same as you." He smiled. "Scared shitless."

"I'm about to change my whole life Nate, what if I mess it up? What if I'm making a mistake?" I asked.

"Don't worry," He said soothingly. "This is obviously meant to be, you have nothing to be afraid of."

"What time is it?" I asked, trembling.

"I'll go find out, I'll tell you when we're starting okay?" He said, kissing my cheek. I nodded, turning back around to the mirror. I wanted to throw up again. I tried to keep myself under control by sitting down, but that could only help so much. I was about to be somebody's WIFE.

Married at nineteen.

People would think we had some kind of illegitimate child.

Nate returned just minutes later. I stood up. "We're going to start soon - you can stay in here, or wait outside with the rest of us. Shane won't see you - he's already up at the altar. Ryan's down at the front as well, filming. We're just about to line up; I'm going to take my place." He said. I nodded. "Mitchie, I'm so proud of you. I love you."

"Love you too, Natey," I smiled, trying to keep the tears from flowing. He kissed me on the forehead and lowered the veil over my face before closing the door gently behind him

"I'll be out in a minute." I said to nobody in particular. I grabbed my bouquet, filled with all white flowers and I looked in the mirror and took a deep breath.

Once I stepped out the door - there was no turning back. This was really happening.

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**And also, how amazing is Lines, Vines and Trying Times? I get chills every time I listen to it.**

**My favourite are definitely World War III, Fly With Me, Hey Baby and Turn Right. (Also loving Keep It Real – hahaha)**

By the way, I've never had a wedding or even been to one before, so my whole wedding experience is what I've learnt from pop culture (:

Anyway, reviews lovlies?  
Please? (:


	15. Chapter 15

**I can think of no better time than now to post this chapter - I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. Kevin Jonas for getting engaged.**

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**6:03 PM**

The music started; Pachelbel's Canon played beautifully on the piano, by persons unknown.

Jason and Josie set off first, with Shaun and Lola not far behind. Andy and Peggy were next. I was standing around a corner so all I could see were their bodies disappearing.

And that's when it started.

The traditional wedding march.

I took a deep breath to bait my nerves, and took a step out. I turned the corner and everyone stood up. You never really notice 150 people until they're all staring at you.

Before moving, my eyes found Shane, standing up there, hands folded in front of him. His face broke into a heart melting smile as he saw me. His brown eyes sparkled like diamonds in the light.

I briefly wondered what I had done to be so outrageously lucky.

With much difficulty, I tore my eyes from him and set my gaze upon Nate who was standing at the start of the aisle. I think it took an eternity to get just to Nate. He smiled as I met him and linked his arm with mine. He walked me down the rest of the way, and not once did I break eye contact with Shane.

At the bottom of the stairs of the altar, I handed Josie my bouquet and turned to Nate. He lifted the veil off my face gently and placed his hands on my arms, gripping lightly. He kissed both of my cheeks and hugged me tightly.

"I'm so proud of you," He whispered before he let go, his eyes shimmering with the tears he refused to let fall. He took his place beside the boys and all that was left was for me to walk up the three steps that separated myself from Shane. I turned to face both the minister and Shane and lightly stepped up.

I stood at Shane's side before he grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine, giving them a gentle squeeze. Butterflies owned my insides. I looked up at those eyes and that was it - I surrendered to my tear ducts. The minister began, but I can't say I was really paying attention. I was too lost in his face as he smiled down at me as if he'd won the lottery.

Everything we've been through - it all led up to this. We never took our eyes off each other, not even to look at the minister. Before I knew it, the minister was addressing Shane, breaking his concentration from me just slightly.

"Shane, do you take Michelle for your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." The clarity and absolute conviction in his voice made my heart swell. His voice rang throughout the church, filling every space up with his confidence.

The minister turned to me.

"Michelle, do you take Shane for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," I choked out, trying to stop the tears that were now freely flowing down my cheeks. Shane squeezed my hand gently.

"The rings, please," the minister nodded at Jason. Jason nobly held the platinum bands out to him. The minister gave each of us one to place on the other's finger. Shane was first. He took my left hand and repeated after the minister.

"With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." He slipped it onto my finger against my engagement ring, and smiled a breathtaking smile down at me. Now it was my turn. I took his hand and did the same.

"With this ring," I began, choking up a bit. "I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods," I continued, pausing for a second. "I thee endow." I gently, slowly placed it on his ring finger.

"By the power vested in me, by the country of the United States of America, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride," He nodded, smiling.

I swore I heard Shane murmur, "Finally," before lightning fast wrapping his arms around my waist. I did the same to his neck and in an instant our lips crashed hard against each other. It was the most passionate kiss I've ever had - it was like this was the one thing we've been waiting for, for an eternity.

The entire church roared with claps and cheers. When we broke apart roughly three minutes later, (trust me, three minutes is a long time for one kiss), we ran down the short aisle hand in hand with the bridal party and groomsmen following closely behind.

Everyone soon exited the church to watch us off in the black limo. The entire vehicle was adorned with decorations and writing that said, 'Just Married!'. A little gaudy for my tastes, but I loved it all the same. Shane opened the door for me and I slid in, Shane right behind me. As soon as he shut the door, the chauffer drove off.

We waved to our friends and family who were waving us off from the front steps of the church. Once they were out of sight, Shane and I settled back into the plush leather seats.

**June 16  
6:40 PM**

Shane and I looked at each other and we both erupted into a fit of laughter.

"I can't believe we just did that!" I exclaimed.

"Me neither," he said, trying to contain himself.

"But I'm glad we did."

"Same." He placed his hands roughly along my cheeks and pressed his lips hard onto mine. "How long 'till we get to the reception place?" He asked, between several other kisses.

"Like twenty minutes?" I suggested.

"There's a lot we could do in twenty minutes," he said. I giggled.

"Tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm certain."

"Aww, fine." He settled and leaned against the corner between the seat and the window with his arm firm around my shoulders. I leaned against his chest with my facing looking upwards towards his.

"Remember the first time we were in a limo together?" I said, as he ran his hand up and down my back gently.

"Yeah," He smiled down. "Nate got stuck in an elevator."

"Yeah. Do you remember how you kissed me?"

"Yeah - I was there," he helpfully informed me.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Huh?"

"What made you think you could kiss me?"

"Did you not want me to or-"

"No I just want to know what you were thinking."

"Oh - um... I was thinking that you're the most beautiful girl in the world - and if I didn't at least try, I'd always be asking myself 'what if'."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Wow. Want to know what I was thinking when you kissed me?"

"What?"

"Your lips were cold."

"Are you serious?" He almost laughed.

"What was I supposed to be thinking? It's not like I was expecting it or anything," I defended. I turned around so my whole body was facing his and I kissed him softly. He wrapped his arms around my frame and held me to him. After the kiss was broken, he pulled me sideways onto his lap and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I love you wifey." He said, kissing my forehead.

"Don't say that," I made a face. "It makes me sound old."

"What do you want me to call you?"

"You'll figure something out." I said. "Oh my god, I'm a MRS." I said loudly, raising my head.

"That's what usually happens when you marry someone…" he teased lightly.

"Now all my mail will say Mrs. Mitchie Gray - not even, they could just say Mrs. Gray and I WON'T KNOW WHO THAT IS!" I became paranoid.

"Hey," he laughed, trying to calm me down. "You'll get used to it,"

"Easy for you to say!" I spat. "You were Shane Gray yesterday and your Shane Gray today!"

"Oh good, cause I wasn't sure."

"Shut up," I whined, punching his arm lightly. " Sorry, I'm still taking all this in."

"Yeah, same," he said, lacing his hand with mine.

"I read once that when you get married - it's like you get a whole new life - and any sins you've done in the past are erased," I said idly.

"Really? So if I were to kill someone a few months ago,"

"Let's call him Josh, hypothetically of course," I added in, knowing this would make him smirk.

"Right, Josh. So if I were to kill Josh a few months ago, starting today, it would be as if I didn't?"

"Yes, yes that would be the case. Though I doubt you'd have the opportunity to get married in prison,"

"Hey, I'm famous. I have connections - no one would miss him - and they'd never find the body,"

"No you don't," I rolled my eyes. "You're just a stupid pop star with a microphone and skinny jeans."

"...and you're just a stupid _rock_ star with a microphone and skinny jeans' wife," he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Oh, don't remind me." I joked. "God, I must have been drunk or something."

"Hey, remember when you were drunk?"

"No, but I remember when you poured Red Bull on me and I made you stay out in the cold," I grinned.

"Yeah... but then I told you I loved you," he said. I smiled.

"Aww, you remember!"

"Of course I remember, I remember everything that's happened between us."

"Me too," I agreed.

"Hey, remember the time you tried to learn how to skateboard?"

"Yes. I remember it well. I think I still have that scar too..." I thought. "Hey, remember the time we got married?"

**7:15 PM**

The reception was going to be in the ballroom of a nearby fancy hotel. When we arrived, Andy made sure everyone was already in the room before Shane and I could get out of the car. Andy was going to do the traditional introduction, since we didn't have an MC or anything.

"Wait a minute," Shane said. "How come we left before anybody but everybody got here before us?" He asked me. I looked at him and melted. He looked so cute - so innocent, asking this question as if he's been thinking about it for a long time.

"We circled around the block a bunch of times so that we could be introduced to everyone. You know?"

"Oh. Yeah. I knew that," he lied. Andy came around and told us that he was ready. We followed him into the hotel and to the doors of the ballroom. We stayed behind and waited for Andy to tell us to come in.

"Ladies and gentlemen," we heard him say through a microphone. "I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Shane and Michelle Gray!" The doors were opened for us by two bellhops at the hotel, and hand in hand, Shane and I walked in. Everyone stood up and clapped for us.

"I feel like the fucking queen," I grinned.

"... and now," Andy continued. "The bride and groom will have their first dance as husband and wife." He gave the microphone back to band we had book began to play a favourite song of mine; 'Fade Into You' by Mazzy Star.

It was a little embarrassing at first; I could feel my cheeks flush. Shane pulled me to the middle of the floor and placed his hand at the small of my back and pulled me close to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and the other hand I locked with his. We moved slowly to the music, not tearing our eyes away from each other the entire time - not even for a second. When the song ended, Shane kissed me on the lips and everyone clapped.

"And now," The band singer said, "....we invite everyone to come and dance." With that, they started another song.

"Ooh, ooh, my turn!" Nate said, as Shane and I approached our families. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the floor. Shane stayed behind and talked with his family. Nate and I got into the same position that I was in with Shane. "I'm really happy for you," he said.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "You know, Nate, none of this would have happened if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, I know, man you are lucky that elevator got stuck," he said.

"Well - not just that, though that definitely had to do with this, remember, that night, and you walked in on us and you almost ended it before it even got a chance to start?"

"Yeah..." he said, thinking back. "I think thanks are in order," he grinned.

"Thank you, Nate," I said, nestling my head into his shoulder.

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**Aww, second last chapter! How sad!**

The next chapter is just going to be an epilogue, and should be up tomorrow :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Last chapter! Oh no!**

**I would just like to send a HUMUNGOUS thankyou to everybody who has Alerted, Favorited and Reviewed this story. You all have no idea just how much it means to me, and how much it just inspires me to write everyday.**

**If I could FedEx you all a Shane Gray, it'd be the first on my to do list **

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**September 12  
12:45 AM**

Shane and I finally moved into our newly built house last week. Most of the things haven't been unpacked yet, due to the fact that last week was my first week in college and Shane had all this pre-tour stuff.

That's right.

Tour stuff.

Shane was going on tour.

Tomorrow.

Around the world.

For two months.

Other than _that_ little niche, married life was great.

Married life in your own house was great too, because that meant you could have hot sex everywhere and anywhere, whenever you wanted.

If we tried that while we were living in Shaun's house, things could have got a little awkward.

Infomercials from the television played in the background as the front door was opened and quietly shut. Footsteps were approaching the living room, where I laid half-asleep on the floor. I was trying to stay up to greet him, but since there'd been nothing good on cable, I'd fallen into a slumber pretty quickly.

"Baby, you still awake?" Shane whispered from behind. I slight moan escaped my lips as I tried to gather enough strength to answer. He knelt down towards me and took the remote in my hand and shut the TV off.

He stared at me for about twenty seconds. "Come on," he said, scooping me up in his arms. My head rested against his collarbone as his arms supported my figure. My arms were folded on my chest as my eyes drooped shut. He slowly carried me up the stairs and into our bedroom. He rested me gently on top of the bed. I turned my head to look at him, but the room was dark and I could barely make him out.

"I was waiting for you..." I said almost soundlessly. He took his jacket off and threw it to the corner of the bed. He slowly lay down next to me so we were facing each other. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him so that we were completely pressed up against each other.

"You shouldn't have stayed up," he whispered. "You have class tomorrow."

"I wanted to see you before you left..."

"I'll call you every chance I get..."

"Don't do that... then you won't have any fun... but once in a while would be nice..."

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you there..."

"You'll be fine... You've done it before without me…"

"But that was before I thought it could physically hurt to be away from someone. It's not too late to change your mind... come with us..."

"Shane..."

"Please?"

"I'm going to miss you..."

"It's not good bye..."

"I love you," I barely got out. Shane sighed heavily and rested his chin up on my head.

"I love you too..."

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**Done and done.**

**There won't be a sequal for this - my reasoning being because I don't really like writing about married people, because eventually kids come into play and all that. And maybe it's just simpler to leave this where it is and for you all to make up your own stories with what happened next!**

**Don't despair though - this leaves me more time to work on my other stories, and perhaps even update It Had To Be You ! I have a couple more stories lurking about in my harddrive that I haven't uploaded to here yet, so I won't run out of ideas for a while. So as long as everyone is still interested - I'll keep writing.**

**I love you all so much.**

**Thank you**

**- Bree xx**


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